


The Prince of the Underworld

by LoganExeHasStoppedWorking



Series: PotU AU [1]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Badass Sarah Jacobs (Newsies), Betrayal, Blood and Injury, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), Character Death, Davey and Sarah are twins, Davey centric story, Emotional Hurt, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jack Needs a Hug, Let Crutchie Say Fuck, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Violence, and just a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 89,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21940879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoganExeHasStoppedWorking/pseuds/LoganExeHasStoppedWorking
Summary: Just a note: This doesn't take place in the same universe as Percy Jackson but has similar ideas. In other words, none of the events of the series happened in this universe, but there are certain ideas and things that will stay the same. (You'll see what I mean.)
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Series: PotU AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152911
Comments: 286
Kudos: 205





	1. Camp Jupiter

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really excited about this story, I've had it in my mind for a while and finally decided to write it! I hope ya'll enjoy it!

“Seriously…”

Davey rolled his eyes. He took cover from the barrage of arrows being sent his way. He closed his eyes as he heard the sound of steel against stone. His grip on his sword tightened nervously as he awaited the signal from his sister.

Davey opened his eyes and glanced around looking for the other campers that were on his team. As always, they were off doing their own thing while Davey and Sarah fended for themselves. Gods, Davey hated working in teams.

He withdrew behind a tree to hide. He took in a few deep breathes and gripped his sword tighter. “Now would be a good time for the signal, Sarah,” Davey muttered impatiently.

Davey heard the sound of water. Before he could even consider it to be Sarah, he was blasted by one of the water cannons from the fortress. His head was hit against a sharp rock. It was hit with such force that any regular mortal would’ve been knocked unconscious or even dead. Fortunately, he wasn’t any regular mortal. Sometimes it paid to be a demigod (the battle armor might have helped as well).

He groaned as he sat up. The sensation stung the back of his head as he struggled to stand up. Davey’s knees shook as he stood in a normal upright position. The same sound filled Davey’s ears, and he braced for impact. However, it didn’t come.

He looked up to see the pipes along the cannons bursting. The water sprinkling everywhere like rain. The demigods around the fortress had looks of confusion.

There it was. Davey sprinted straight toward the enemy lines. He managed to fight off the other demigods, who seemed more focused on the rest of their team than them.

“Dave,” Sarah’s voice called. Sarah suddenly appeared beside him. “Dave, I saw what happened! Are you okay?” She moved a hand to touch his wound, but Davey moved her hand away.

“I’m fine. It’s just a little sore. You know how this game can get.”

She nodded. “Yeah…anyway, let’s get going. I think we actually have a shot at winning this time!” She smiled excitedly.

Davey smiled. “Yeah, come on.”

They snuck around the opponents as they made their way to the banner. There it was. Right in the open with no one guarding it. Considering they always ended up on the losing team maybe they figured no one would make it that far. Sarah noticed this too.

“That’s odd,” she said, her voice laced with suspicion, “no one’s protecting the actual banner. That’s kind of suspicious…”

Davey looked around for any sign of a trap. “I don’t know. The coast seems clear. Maybe we should tread lightly, just in case. You go left, and I’ll go right.”

“Good call.”

The two of them slowly made their way over to the banner. Davey felt his heart beating quickly in his chest. They were going to win. They would finally prove the other campers wrong. He could finally show his worth. He wasn’t as bad a screw up as everyone thought he was.

Davey reached out. The feeling of cloth brushing against his fingers. He just had to grab it.

He looked over to see Sarah giving him an encouraging grin. An ominous shadow loomed over her; its weapon raised high. He froze. “Sarah, behind-”

She was knocked to the side. Davey ran over to her. He knelt next to her and looked up to see who the shadow was.

A shorter boy emerged from the shadows. He pushed his dark, messy bangs to the side and pointed his spear at them. Davey recognized him as one of the praetors, Spot Conlon.

Davey rolled his eyes. This wasn't exactly a fair match in Davey's mind. Not only was he a praetor, but he was also a son of Mars. From what Davey had heard, Spot was also pretty dangerous even without a weapon. So _with_ a weapon, Spot must've been a killing machine.

Davey raised his bronze sword and readied himself for battle. Spot just smirked.

“You two ain’t gonna win that easily,” he said. “Besides, we already won.”

Davey raised a confused eyebrow until he looked over to see the rest of their team beaten down and banner stolen from its place. He sighed. Part of him was kind of relieved because he didn't feel like ending up in the infirmary today, but the other half of him wanted to use his sword to wipe that smug smile off Spot's face.

“Dammit,” Sarah said as she sat up.

Without another word, Spot turned and left. Davey and Sarah both always had this unspoken agreement that they didn't like Spot. He never made fun of them or actively tried to mess with them like the other campers, but something about Spot just didn't sit well with them. Maybe it was his smug personality. Maybe it was his higher status. Maybe it's because he was everything Davey wished he could be. Whatever the case, neither Davey nor Sarah like him.

Sarah stood up and checked to see if the arm she landed on was fine. “Well, that was fun. Another day, another loss.”

“Mm-hm.” Davey sheathed his sword. “I hate Siege. I much rather prefer the chariot races. At least then, we don’t have to work with other people.” Davey muttered the last part.

Sarah removed her helmet to let her long brown curls fall over her shoulders. She frowned. She opened her mouth to say something, but Davey was already turning to leave. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

-

Davey showered and got dressed. He tried his best to comb the dirt and stray leaves from his dark curls, which took a few minutes. He changed into his uniform purple t-shirt that had the golden letters SPQR on the front and a pair of jeans. He walked toward the dining area with the usual stares and gossip behind his back. After almost eight years of spending summers at Camp Jupiter, Davey had gotten used to it.

He found his sister sitting in their usual spot. She had combed the dirt from her hair as well. She had her long locks tied up in a ponytail and wore the same attire as Davey; the same purple t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He grabbed dinner and sat next to her.

Davey could feel Sarah’s eyes on him. “What?”

“Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Maybe it was the blow to the head, but you’ve been kind of down since we lost today. What’s wrong?”

Davey shrugged. “Nothing.”

Sarah persisted. “David Jacobs, as your twin sister, I can always tell when something's wrong with you. What's up?”

“I said nothing.”

She poked him with her fork. “Come on. Come on. Come on!”

He hated how stubborn she could be sometimes. She poked him harder. “Ow! Okay, fine. I’m just… tired.”

“You're always tired. What are you tired of?”

“Of this!” He spread his arms. “Everything! Don’t you just get tired of everyone being against us? Camp is great, don’t get me wrong, but isn’t it a little unfair that people hate us just because of who our dad?”

Sarah thought for a moment. “Well, people don’t exactly hate us. They’re just…” She thought again. “…a little cautious around us. You remember those stories about Dad. Remember, how he flooded that town and caused all those earthquakes. Neptune is just like that. That’s why I learned to control my powers, and you should do the same.”

Davey quickly shook his head. “No thanks. I’ll stick with hand-to-hand combat.”

Davey had never liked or even tried to use his powers. He had the notion that if he ever used them or let them get out of hand, he’d be just like his dad. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt someone or destroy something just because he lost control of his abilities. The only one he found useful was being able to heal with water sources. Besides, he was seventeen now. Maybe he lost the rest of them because of a lack of using them. Whatever the case may be, he never wanted to use them.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. The point is: why should it matter that people think we’re like Dad? We’re us, and that’s that. We don’t have to prove anything to anyone, right?”

A smile crept onto Davey’s face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks, Sarah.”

“You’re welcome. Now, can you stop being such a downer?”

“Fine.” Davey smiled. They ate dinner and talked about things such as school, their little brother, and strategies for the next war game. Davey let himself relax a little and laugh, but there was a small itch in the back of his mind that wouldn’t go away. One that he’s had sitting there for a long time and couldn’t get rid of.

-

After dinner, Sarah and Davey walked back to their cohort. It was getting dark, so they parted ways to get ready for bed.

Davey sat his bed for a while. He had zoned out for a good few minutes. His thoughts were all jumbled up and messy and kind of incoherent. There was a point Davey didn't even know what he was thinking about. He sighed and stood up. There weren't many people coming to bed yet. Without a second thought or even going to tell Sarah, he left. He just decided to get up and leave. 

He left the Fifth Cohort and just walked around Camp Jupiter aimlessly for a while. Davey took in a deep breath. This is just what he needed. He just needed to clear his head for a while and get away from everything. He walked on a trail with a cool breeze blowing through the night. Davey liked to roam around at night sometimes just to get his thoughts in order. He mostly went on these nightly walks with Sarah, but sometimes he just had to go out on his own. I just helped him get his thoughts together

The open-air felt nice with only the sounds of dirt beneath his feet and the wind in the trees. He let himself relax and smile more than he would on a normal day. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

Davey looked up ahead to see Temple Hill. That's where all the shrines to the gods were. He balled up his hands into fists, his tension slowly returning. Davey always avoided this place. Sarah always said it was a good idea to go every once in a while to get things about their dad out of his system, but Davey never listened. Neptune never made time to see them, so why should Davey make time to talk to him?

Nevertheless, he kept walking forward.


	2. The Weirdest Dreams

Davey glanced around the vacant area.

The sound of his footsteps echoed through the air as he climbed a flight of stairs to the top of the hill. He found himself staring up at massive shrines to the gods. The first ones that caught his eye were the temples of Mars and Bellona. They were the largest and most extravagant buildings there.

Davey just rolled his eyes. It was typical of the Romans to worship the war gods above all else. He continued past the temples. Suddenly, he stopped as a shiver went down his spine. Davey turned quickly to scan his surroundings. Something was wrong. He could feel it. He just wished he could put his finger on what it was.

After a moment of paranoia, he turned and continued slowly down the path he was following. It was hard to discern some of the smaller temples from each other in the dim light. He managed to make out a few such the temples for Venus, Apollo, Diana, and others; however, there was no sign of Neptune.

He continued down the path. He still had an odd sensation that followed him. It was a tingling sensation that he was being watched. He brushed it off as his usual paranoia. The thought of it being the gods watching him roam their temples even crossed his mind for a second. It couldn’t be that though…could it?

After what seemed like forever, Davey decided that it was about time to head back to the barracks. He couldn’t find it so might as well just head back. No use to keep looking. He’d just have to come back later, or not. It depended on if he felt like it or not.

A light breeze blew threw his hair. He stopped in his tracks. He looked back to start his trip back, but something caught his eye.

Out of the corner of his eye, there was a small building that Davey hadn’t noticed before. He walked closer to it until he saw that it was a shrine. It was Neptune’s shrine. Of course, it was.

It was a small run-down building about the size of a shed. The was some blue paint chipping off parts of it that showed how long it had been abandoned. Davey used his nail to scrape off a piece of paint that was bothering him. He scoffed at how poorly managed it was. He let his hand linger on the wooden surface for a while longer.

He sighed. “Hey Dad,” his voice came out hoarse. He never actually spoke directly to his dad, so it felt weird talking to someone that probably wasn’t even listening. “Listen,” he continued, “I know you’re probably busy or just ignoring me, but…I could really use some help. I’ve been having a hard time lately and thought maybe you could help me out in some way. I mean, you are a god after all.”

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. He cleared his throat. “You see, no one around here really respects me – I don’t mean that in like a narcissistic! I just mean in a way that people don’t see me as…useless or maybe in a bad way, you know? I just want to be able to prove myself. I want to show that I’m… not bad.” He felt his chest tighten. It felt like his airway was being cut off.

“I-I just need a way to set myself apart from my parentage. If you could somehow make that happen, could you please help me out in some way? Please…”

Davey felt himself tense up. He leaned forward so that his forehead was resting on the shrine in front of him. He withdrew his hand and hugged himself tightly. He took in a deep breath and let it out.

A hand grasped his shoulder. Davey’s eyes widened. He jumped and grabbed the hand, immediately flipping the other person on their back.

“Not bad, kid. You’re stronger than you look.”

Davey relaxed a little. “Oh gods, you scared me. Sorry, Spot.”

The shorter boy stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s alright. I’m more impressed than anything else.” He rolled his shoulders back. “So, whatcha doin’ out so late, Jacobs?”

“I…” He paused. “I could be asking you the same thing.”

Spot shrugged nonchalantly. “’ Cause why the hell not? I’m just out here visitin’ my pa.” He nodded toward the Mars temple.

Davey felt his stomach churn at the reminder of how much of a loser he was. He smiled half-heartedly. “Ah, I see. I guess I was kind of doing the same thing.” His eyes darted back to the small shed-like structure for a moment.

Spot raised an eyebrow. “You sure ‘bout that? ‘Cause ya didn’t have to come so late?” Davey could tell there was suspicion in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” he said quickly.

Spot laughed. He raised his hands in surrender. “Don’t be so defensive. It was just a joke. That’s just how I am.”

“Mm-hm.” Davey felt something in the pit of his stomach tighten. “Well, I guess I should be heading back.”

Spot smiled. “Yeah, same here.” His smile faltered, and his expression became more serious. “Don’t tell anyone I was out here this late, and I won’t tell anyone you was here, deal? You know how they get when people are out too late.”

Davey nodded slowly. “Got it.” Davey walked past him toward the way he came from. He felt something inside his stomach twist. He walked quickly until he was sure he was out of Spot’s range of sight. He slowed down to a slower pace. He felt relief as his stomach calmed down.

He ran a hand through his hair. All he wanted now was to go to bed. As soon as he got back, he was going to try to avoid Sarah’s interrogation about where he was and why he left and just go to bed.

Luckily, everyone was asleep already. That made it easy for him to slip into his pajamas and sneak into bed.

-

Davey opened his eyes.

He sat up but couldn’t see anything. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He wasn’t in the barracks or anywhere he recognized. A surge of panic filled him. He jumped up to his feet.

Where was he? Where was everyone? What happened?

“S-Sarah?” He called. His knees wobbled as he tried to take a step. “Anyone?” He looked everywhere until he realized he was outside. It wasn’t anywhere he recognized, but he knew he was outside because of the dim light and overcast sky.

Once he got a better idea of his surroundings, his breath came back to him. His knees stopped shaking so much.

It looked like he was in an alleyway in a town. It was probably a small town judging by how vacant it seemed to be. He tried to take in exactly where he might have been. He straightened up when he heard a noise.

A soft sound caught his attention. He tried to make out what it was. It sounded like it might be a little kid. He looked for the source and saw a silhouette he hadn’t noticed at the end of the alley.

He took a step toward the kid. He’d always had a soft spot for kids because of his little brother. He wanted to see if he could help the kid. “Hey,” he said gently, “are you okay?”

The child paid no mind to him. It just sat down at the edge of the alley with its legs crossed. Davey couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl because the kid was only showing Davey their back. They had greasy black, shoulder-length hair and wore an oversized navy-blue sweater.

“Hey, there,” Davey tried again. “Are you lost? Or can you tell me where I am?”

The child didn’t respond. They just sat there and murmured. Davey couldn’t make out what the kid was saying, but they wouldn’t stop repeating it. Davey felt a shiver down his spine. He took a few more steps until he was right behind the kid.

“Can you hear me?” He reached out to touch the kid, but his hand went straight through their body. Davey jumped back with a gasp. He rubbed his eyes. He had no idea what was going on. When he opened his eyes again, the kid was gone.

In fact, the entire scene changed to something more familiar. He was home. He looked around to see his house and yard he recognized so well. He walked closer.

“Hey, stop it! Let go of me!”

Davey’s heart almost stopped. “Les?”

He turned on his heels to see his nine-year-old brother trying to wrestle away two men who looked more than twice his size.

“Les!”

Les didn’t seem to hear him. He was whacking the guys with a stick. “Get away from me! I’ll scream louder! My mom will hear or maybe some cops!” Les was trying his best to scream threats and fight them away but it was no use.

Davey felt his stomach twist. He grit his teeth and balled up his fists. “Get away from brother!” He basically screamed. He ran toward them and tried to tackle them, but he went straight through them. “Les!” His stomach knotted even more at the sight of his brother being knocked unconscious by something he couldn’t quite see. One of the men was holding something, but it was hard to make out.

Davey couldn’t see the guys’ faces, but he could make out their clothing. They were wearing dirty looking orange t-shirts and jeans. There was writing on the shirt, but it was hard to make out. It looked blurry.

Davey was basically growling like an animal at this point. He knew it was no use, but he could stop himself. “Let go of him!”

A third man appeared from what seemed like thin air. He had a smaller stature than the other two. He was wearing a brown sweater and a white t-shirt with baggy pants. It looked like he rolled out of bed a second ago and threw on a random coat on. His face was hard to make out too. He said nothing. All he did was nod his head in a direction, and the two others followed. One had Les draped around his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Davey felt his nails dig into his palms. He ran after them but was met with darkness.

He was on the ground again. He sat up. “Les?!” He called once again. “Les, where are you?!”

Muffled voices came from behind him. Three people walked right through him like he didn’t exist.

“I don’t know where he is. Haven’t seen him all day.” The voice had a thick New York accent that reminded him of Spot Conlon. This one wasn’t as extreme though.

“You mean…he just left without telling anyone?” A female voice spoke. “Because he didn’t tell me anything either. Crutchie?”

The third voice sighed. “Nothin’. I asked the other Hermes kids if they had seen ‘im, but they all said the same thing. They saw him yesterday like us.”

Davey felt his head spin. Hermes? That was a Greek god, wasn’t it? Davey didn’t know too much about the Greek gods, but he recognized a few names. If that was the case, these must’ve been Greek demigods. Davey never actually met one, but he’s heard stories. Some good and others…not so great. The Greeks didn’t have the best reputation at Camp Jupiter.

Davey couldn’t make out their faces or attire this time. It was like looking at something from far away without glasses. He could tell the first boy was tan and had dark hair while the second was lighter-skinned and had blonde hair. The girl was fair-skinned and had bright red hair just past her shoulders.

The first voice sighed. “We should tell Chiron. This ain’t the first camper that’s gone missin’ in the past few weeks.”

“Yeah, good thinkin’. We tell him first thing in the morni-”

“Screw that! We’re going now!” The girl said.

The boys groaned in an overexaggerated manner. “Ugh, fine.”

The three of them continued forward.

“Hey,” Davey called. He knew he couldn’t be heard the first two times, but third times a charm, right? “Hey, what’s going on?”

Davey was surprised when the dark-haired boy slowed down and looked around. “Hey, can you hear me?”

“You all hear somethin’?”

The other boy sighed. “It’s probably nothin’. Come on.”

Davey reached out toward the three of them. “Wait! Listen!”

They disappeared into the darkness. Davey was left alone. “Hello?” His voice echoed. He wandered around blindly for what seemed like hours. “Hello? Um, Crutchie, right?” He thought for a moment. “Did the other two say their names?” He muttered to himself.

He had a lot of questions and no answers. He knew this was all probably a dream, but that didn’t stop him from worrying about his brother and wondering who those demigods were.

“Dave…Dave…” Sarah’s voice called.

“Sarah?”

“Dave.”

He turned frantically to find the source of the voice.

“David, wake up!”

Davey felt his body fling itself forward into a sitting position. His eyes snapped open. “Huh? Wha- “

“Dave!” Sarah said with her hands on his shoulders. “Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream or something?”

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His voice came out groggy. “Yeah actually. How did you know?”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because the toilets exploded in the middle of the night!”

Davey jolted up. “Wait, what?”

Sarah nodded in the direction of the restrooms. “Yeah, and everyone’s saying it has Neptune’s children written all over it! It wasn’t me, so I figured it was you. So, get dressed and come on. You have some explaining to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Next chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed it! The second half was fun to write! The next one should be up next week (hopefully)!


	3. A Call to Adventure

That hadn’t happened in a long time.

Davey vividly remembered that when he and Sarah were younger that kind of thing was a normal occurrence. When either of them had a nightmare or had some sort of tantrum, the restrooms at home would flood. Sometimes it was the toilets that exploded and sometimes the sinks (both if things got too bad).

The outbursts lessened as the two got into their teen years. Davey wasn’t proud to admit he had them more than Sarah. They eventually stopped altogether. Well…until now that is.

His knees shook as he paced. He hadn’t meant to flood the place. Hell, he didn’t even know he was doing it until his sister woke him up. He just hoped he didn’t hurt anyone or cause any massive damage. He felt the rest of his body begin to tremble.

He didn’t bother to make his way over to the bench, so he sat down the place he was standing. He hugged his knees close to his body and rested his forehead on his knees. He closed his eyes.

His mind wandered back to what he saw in his dream. None of them made any sense. They didn’t even have a connection to each other! It was all just a confusing mess of visions.

Davey’s eyes snapped open. Davey had the horrifying thought that they might’ve not been dreams at all but visions. He’d heard that happen to other demigods before. Sometimes they had visions of things that happened in the past or were currently happening.

His stomach churned at the thought. That meant Les could be in trouble. That meant Les was kidnapped. What if he was being hurt right now?!

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone sit next to him. He lifted his head to see it was Sarah. She put a comforting hand on his back. She didn’t seem as upset as she had when she woke him up. Now, she looked worried.

“Hey,” she said, “are you okay?”

Davey shrugged. “I don’t know.” His voice came out surprisingly calm. “I just…I guess I saw some stuff that really freaked me out.”

“What was it? Whatever it was, it’s not real. It was just a dream.” A smile crept onto her face. She let out a snicker. “You haven’t had a nightmare that bad since we were eight.”

He rolled his eyes. “Look, what I saw just seemed so real. It was weird and kind of scary actually. What if it’s a vision and not a dream? What if this stuff actually happening?”

“Well, what was it?”

He explained the three images he saw. He told her about the mysterious kid he saw, how he witnessed their brother being kidnapped, and the three Greek campers that were talking about something he didn’t understand.

As he spoke, Sarah nodded but said nothing. He wasn’t sure whether she believed it was real or not though. Sarah remained silent after he finished. A look of concern flashed across her face before she gave him a small smile.

“Dave, I’m sure it was just a dream.”

His shoulders tensed up. “You don’t understand. It was all so real! It wasn’t just some dream!”

She shrugged, her smile wavering. “Look, Dave, I know just as much about this as you do. I’m just hoping it’s not real. Les is fine. We literally just talked to him two days ago.”

Davey ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “I don’t know…”

Sarah put a comforting arm around him and brought him into a half hug. Her voice was soft and full of comfort. “I’m sure everything’s fine, Dave. It was just a bad dream. Mom would’ve tried to contact us if Les was gone.”

Davey was tense but tried to sound fine. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

She smiled. “If Les or any campers here have gone missing, we would’ve known by now, right? The praetors would’ve said something.”

“I guess.”

Sarah stood up and held out her hand for Davey to take. He took her hand and pulled himself up.

He didn’t feel any better than he did before telling Sarah. Maybe she was right though. He didn’t have anything but his dreams to go off of. He never even met the other people in his dreams, so it could’ve just been his mind playing tricks on him or making up faces. Nevertheless, he still felt that something was wrong.

Besides his vision about Les, the one that caught his attention was the one about that mysterious kid. He tried connecting the scene to places he had seen or the kid to faces he might’ve seen in the past. He kept drawing a blank though.

Something about the whole scene intrigued him. If he was real, Davey must’ve had some kind of connection to him. Did he ever meet anyone who looked remotely like the kid? Maybe he was going to meet the kid in the future? Davey’s stomach twisted. The kid could’ve been in danger.

Davey was snapped from his thoughts when Sarah elbowed his ribs. He gave her a look but immediately understood. He saw a familiar figure heading toward them. Davey and Sarah stood up straight.

The second praetor approached them. She was a young girl with short light brown hair. “Sarah, David,” she addressed them.

Sarah spoke. “Yes, Smalls?”

“I’m sorry! It was an accident!” Davey blurted out. He already knew he was going to be in trouble for flooding the bathroom, but he just wasn’t ready for it.

Smalls looked taken aback by his outburst. “Okay…” She cleared her throat. “That’s not exactly what I’m here for. Side note though: you two are going to have to clean up the mess as soon as the flooding stops.”

They sighed. “Of course,” Davey said.

Smalls continued. “Anyway, tell the rest of your cohort to meet in front of the Principia in an hour. We need to meet with everyone. Something bad is happening. Something really bad.” She had an ominous tone laced in her last sentence. Without another word, she walked away.

Sarah and Davey looked at each other. Davey could see the worry in his sister’s eyes.

“Okay, now I’m a little worried,” she said.

Davey crossed his arms. “I told you something was wrong. I can feel it.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t go telling me ‘I told you so’. I know.” She put an arm around him. “Come on. Let’s go tell the others.”

-

Davey wished he had more time to get dressed.

Almost every camper was there. They all seemed just as confused as Davey was. Unfortunately, Davey was much more disheveled than them. His dark curls shot in every direction, his shirt was all wrinkled, and he didn’t even get the chance to brush his teeth this morning. He was a complete mess, and he knew people were staring as he and Sarah joined everyone else.

Despite that, he was more concerned as to what was going on. It might’ve been exactly what he feared. Campers and more importantly his brother could be in danger. On the off chance, it was something completely different, then he feared the worst-case scenario.

Sarah must’ve noticed how nervous he was because she reached out and grabbed his hand. She squeezed it tightly to tell him everything would be alright. He wished he could believe her, but his mind ran at a hundred miles per hour.

It wasn’t long before the two praetors addressed the crowd.

“So, you’re probably all wondering why we asked you to come here,” Smalls started. “Well, as some of you may have noticed, there are a few campers have been gone.”

Davey internally face-palmed. Great, his nightmares were becoming a reality.

Sarah leaned over. “I haven’t noticed,” she whispered.

Smalls continued. “It’s not many, maybe three or four, but we’ve consulted with the Greeks-”

Murmurs passed through the crowd. The Greeks had a bad reputation for being irresponsible, scandalous, and just overall reckless. The majority of people here probably hadn’t met a Greek, but there were stories and that was all they needed.

Davey had to admit that he was guilty of this too. He heard stories and rumors but never actually met anyone from the other camp. That made him wonder what would make the praetors reach out to them for help. It made him wonder how they even made contact with them.

“Everyone shut up!”

There was an immediate silence. Spot stepped forward. He looked angry, but that seemed to immediately fade as he spoke.

“Now, we know you all don’t like them, but we talked to them anyway. They’s got it worse over there. They’s got almost twenty campers missin’ over there. Another one just disappeared yesterday.”

Davey blinked a few times. He went back to his dream. The three demigods talking about someone just disappearing. Some child of Hermes as Davey recalled. It sent a chill down his spine. He listened intently.

Spot continued. “Listen, I know none of yous like ‘em, but they think they’s got a lead on what’s goin’ on.”

Smalls took it from there. “That’s one of the reasons we called you guys here. Some of you will go on a quest to help find the missing demigods and bring them back.”

Davey felt his chest tighten. A thought crossed his mind. When he went to visit his dad’s temple…did he hear Davey? Was this… No, it couldn’t be. This was just one huge coincidence. Then again, he did have those dreams after talking to him… No. That was stupid. It was pure coincidence.

Smalls continued. “Spot and I are going to consult the Sibylline Books for anything that might pertain to this, so stay on high alert to make sure no one else goes missing. Stay in pairs or small groups to stay safe. You are all dismissed.”

Everyone disbanded in all different directions. Sarah and Davey stared at each other. Sarah’s eyes were wide. “Oh, my gods…” She motioned from Davey to praetors. “Hurry! Go tell them about what you saw! They need to hear it!”

Davey nodded. He quickly rushed up the steps. “Spot! Smalls!”

The two turned to look at him. Spot crossed his arms. “What’s up, Jacobs?”

“I-I need you guys to hear me out. I had this really weird dream last night that-”

“Look, David,” Smalls interrupted, “we’re kind of busy right now. We have real problems on our hands. We don’t have time for this. Blowing up the bathrooms isn’t our prime concern right now.”

“You blew up the bathrooms?” Spot laughed.

“Yes, but that’s not- “

“Look, Jacobs, we need to find these campers as soon as possible before anything bad can happen.”

“If I may cut in,” Sarah came up behind her brother. She stood up straight and with confidence. “You guys need to hear this. For just a minute-”

“Look you two-”

“No, seriously,” Sarah insisted. “He had a weird vision about the Greek demigods.”

The praetors exchanged glances but didn’t interrupt. Sarah nudged Davey to continue.

Davey stumbled over his words. “Oh, y-yeah! There were these three demigods. They were talking about another demigod going missing, a son of Hermes, I think. And-”

Spot raised a hand to stop him. “We already know that,” Spot said. “That’s what we’re gonna help them with.”

“You two just need to go back to your barracks and clean the restrooms, okay? Let us handle the situation.”

Davey couldn’t say anything. What could he say? ‘I was talking to myself in the middle of the night, so you have to let me go on this quest.’ That wasn’t going to change their minds. In fact, it would just make him look even crazier than he already did.

“David,” Smalls said.

Davey looked up quickly. “Yeah?”

“Maybe you should go get dressed first. You look like you slept outside all night.”

He sighed. “Of course.”

-

“Careful!”

Davey ducked as fast as he could. A stream of water rushed just past the top of his head. Sarah smiled nervously. “Heh, sorry.”

Davey stood up again. “It’s fine. As long as you get rid of all the excess water, I think we’ll be fine.” He picked up another piece of wood that had been blown off the stall doors and shoved it in a trash bag.

“I can’t believe we got stuck cleaning up this mess,” Sarah complained. “Aren’t their people to do this for us?”

Davey shrugged and he picked up another piece of the door. “Sorry Sarah. This is more of my responsibility than yours. After all, I am the one who kind of flooded this place.” His grip tightened.

“Damn right,” Sarah said.

Davey shot her a look.

She chuckled. “I’m kidding! You know, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re a team. I’d rather be by your side picking up after you than anything else you weirdo.”

Davey smiled. “Thanks, sis.”

Davey was glad to have a sister like Sarah. Someone that would always be by his side and help him out. Being twins also had its perks. They always knew when there was something wrong with the other and if there was a problem, they always had each other’s backs. She’d always be there for him, and he’d be there for her.

They spent all morning cleaning up the mess. Davey did a number on the place. A few sinks were broken and two toilets were blown apart by the water pressure. There were pieces scattered everywhere and even some parts of the wall were broken off. Fortunately, they were almost done cleaning. Unfortunately, they also had the fix the wall and stalls that were blown apart by the blast. It was almost lunchtime when they finished cleaning.

Spot walked in. “Jacobs, I need to talk with ya.”

Davey and Sarah gave each other looks of confusion. Spot let out an exasperated sigh. He turned to Davey. “You, come with me.” Without waiting for a response, he walked out.

Davey gave Sarah a look. She smiled and gave a hand gesture to follow Spot. He put down his trash bag and followed Spot. They stood outside the barracks near the back where no one could see them.

“Congratulations Jacobs, we’re goin’ on a little trip.”

Davey raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

Spot let out another annoyed sigh. “Listen closely: you’re comin’ with me and Smalls to Kansas to meet up with three demigods from New York. We went over a prophecy, and since ya had those dreams, you’re comin’ with us.”

Davey felt his heart race. “Wait…really?!” The excitement was present in his voice. He couldn’t help but grin.

“Yup,” Spot said simply. He crossed his arms. “I got three plane tickets that’ll be leavin’ tonight. We’re gonna meet with ‘em around this time tomorrow, so ya better get packin’.”

Davey could feel himself shaking with excitement. He couldn’t believe he was going on a quest. This was his first quest since he was little. His excitement was short-lived when something hit him.

“Wait…what about Sarah?”

“What about her?”

“She’s not coming?”

Spot shook his head. “Nope. It’s gonna be you, me, and Smalls.”

“B-but I can’t- We’ve never been apart-”

“Well, now’s a good start.”

“No,” Davey insisted. “I can’t go without her. We’re a team.”

Spot rolled his eyes. “Look, kid, my hands are tied here. I don’t know what you want me to do. One of you is bad enough, but both of ya on this trip is too dangerous.”

Davey felt his face grow hot with anger. “What?” He took in a deep breath. He tried to keep his voice steady. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“You blew up a bathroom. Both of yous is too dangerous.”

He raised his voice. “That was me! If that’s the case, take Sarah! I’m the dangerous one!”

There was a long moment of silence between the two.

Spot looked away. His light brown eyes scanning the area. He let out a deep breath through his nose. His voice lowered. “I wouldn’t usually do this, but I like you, Jacobs. You’re a good kid and a hell of a good fighter. I’ll talk to Smalls. It’ll your sister, you, and me. Besides, someone’s gotta stay to watch over the other campers. Okay?”

Davey nodded; afraid his voice would explode with the anger he still held in him. Spot reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it immediately. He squeezed Davey’s shoulder and retracted his hand quickly.

“I’ll see ya later, Jacobs. Meet me outside the entrance to the camp.”

He walked away, leaving Davey with a bag of missed emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter! In the next chapter or so we'll get into some real shipping territory. That should be fun! See ya'll soon!


	4. Killer Quest

“I can’t believe it!”

Sarah bounced on her heels as they waited outside the entrance of Camp Jupiter. “I can’t believe we’re actually going on a quest! It’s been such a long time!” Her smile widened. “And we’re going to get the meet half-bloods from the other camp!”

Davey smiled at seeing how excited his sister was. When he told her about the whole thing, she was ecstatic. She squealed with joy and jumped around a good few minutes after Davey told her. He hadn’t told her exactly what Spot said though. What was he going to do, ruin her excitement? No way, she didn’t have to know he thought it was a bad idea having them both go on this quest.

“Calm down,” he said. “It’s not a big deal.”

She automatically gripped his shoulders. His fingernails dug into his shirt. “Not a big deal? Not a big deal! Davey, this is amazing! What makes it even better is that we’re going to be doing it together.” She let go and playfully punched his shoulder.

Davey chuckled and rubbed the area she punched. “Yeah, well, I guess it is kind of cool.”

She jumped her long ponytail bouncing behind her. “That’s the spirit!” She punched him again.

Davey gripped his shoulder. “Stop that.”

She laughed. “Fine.” She looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late. Where is that shorty anyway?”

“That ‘shorty’ is right here.”

Spot appeared from behind them. Rather than his usual purple shirt and light brown shorts, he wore a plaid button-up over a plain black t-shirt with dark blue jeans.

Davey had to stop himself from laughing. Sarah’s face went a bright red as she automatically straightened up. “Oh! Uh, hey Spot,” she stuttered. “I d-didn’t mean-”

He raised a hand to silence her. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.” He sighed. He looked them over. “You twos ain’t goin’ like that are ya?”

Davey looked down at himself. “What’s wrong with what we’re wearing?”

“You’re wearin’ the camp t-shirts? I’d advise against that. You know how many monsters are gonna wanna hunt ya down? You’ll stick out like a sore thumb! I’ll give you ten minutes to change into somethin’ else.”

“But-”

“Just go, Jacobs.”

Sarah and Davey didn’t argue. They quickly ran to the nearest restroom and changed into whatever they had in their backpacks. Sarah emerged with a long brown skirt and a white button-up. Davey wore blue jeans with a dark blue t-shirt that had the NASA logo on it.

When Spot saw them, he gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Now, we can get goin’. Our flight leaves in an hour. C’mon.”

The airport wasn’t far from where the camp was located, so it didn’t take long for them to get there on foot. They sat and waited for their flight’s departure. Davey noticed Spot continuously taking a paper out of his backpack and reading it over and over again.

“What’s that?”

“What?”

Davey pointed at the paper. “The paper. You keep taking it and reading it. What is it?”

Spot folded the paper up for what seemed like the hundredth time. “It’s the prophecy. I’m just goin’ over it to make sure I got all the details right.”

“Can I read it?”

Spot shoved it in his backpack. “No.”

Davey waited for an explanation that never came. He crossed his arms. “Why not?”

“It ain’t your business.” Another simple answer that left Davey with more questions.

“What? I’m on this quest too, let me see it.” Davey reached for the bag, and Spot immediately yanked it away.

Spot narrowed his eyes and gave Davey a look that could kill. “Trust me on this one, Jacobs. You don’t need to know.”

“Spot-”

Spot held up a hand. “Look, we may be on this quest together, but that don’t mean you can just not listen to me, okay? I’m still the praetor, so don’t get all chummy with me, got it?”

Davey looked away. He took in a breath. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.”

Davey turned to Sarah, who was impatiently checking the departure times. “So-”

Sarah spun around, her ponytail slapping her brother in the face. “Oh, sorry. What’s up?”

Davey rubbed the spot she accidentally hit. “You’re not even a little nervous about this whole thing? We haven’t been out of state since we moved to California.”

Sarah waved her hand. “Pssh…Okay, maybe a tiny bit, but the excitement kind of outweighs it.” She lowered her voice so Spot couldn’t hear her. “Besides, I’m glad the flight’s this late at night. We can just sleep until morning to ignore Mr. Grumpy over there. Like seriously, does he even know how to be happy?”

Davey smiled. He glanced over at Spot, who was looking out one of the windows at a distance from them. “I don’t think he even knows what happiness is.”

Sarah laughed. “I’m just hoping even eases up a little during our trip. I mean under all that anger, arrogance, crankiness, there’s got a be some kind of a softie.”

Davey scoffed. “Pfft, doubt it.”

Sarah glanced at the shorter boy. She gave an exaggerated shrug. “Everyone’s got something to hide. I bet ten bucks he’s got something that makes him happy.”

“There is something that makes him happy: watching other people fail.”

She punched him playfully. “Whatever.”

As their conversation ended, Spot came up to them. “C’mon, we got five minutes. Let’s look for the flight gates.”

-

Davey felt a sense of anxiety fill him.

Even though he wasn’t sitting next to the window, his stomach churned as he watched the clouds pass. Sarah didn’t give the window a second glance. She took out a book she packed, put her headphones on, and shut everything out.

Davey tightly grasped the armrests. Something about the altitude and ground being so far away sat wrong with him. This was one of the times he was glad he never interacted with the gods. He doubted Jupiter even knew they existed, so hopefully, his uncle wouldn’t be angry they were in his territory.

“Scared, Jacobs?”

Davey snapped from his thoughts. “Huh?”

Spot rolled his eyes. “You look like you wanna throw up. If you are, don’t do it on me.”

Davey frowned. “I’m fine.” His leg bounced as he tried to preoccupy himself with something else.

“Don’t lie to me, Jacobs. I’ve seen that look before. Last time you made that face, yous threw up on the training field.” Spot seemed to be trying to stop himself from smiling at that memory. “That was a whole lotta brown, Jacobs.”

Davey crossed his arms. “Can you stop calling me that?”

Spot crossed his own arms. He smirked. “What do ya wanna be called? Prince of seaweed? Your destructiveness? Oh, I know, how ‘bout Fish Jesus?”

Davey grit his teeth. “No,” he muttered. “David would’ve sufficed.”

Spot shook his head. “Whatever you say, Fish Jesus.” He snickered at his quip.

Davey rolled his eyes and looked down at his lap. He hadn’t been as smart as Sarah and brought something to distract him. He was also afraid to sleep because of what happened last time, so he had nothing to do but listen to Spot talk down to him or be alone with his thoughts.

Davey glanced at Spot to see him looking through old photographs. He was going through them when familiar colors caught Davey’s attention.

He quickly leaned over, almost throwing himself to the side. “What’s that?”

Spot instinctively brought his photographs to his chest. It almost amused Davey to see Spot act like any other teenager would when someone looked at something they were doing. “It ain’t your business, Jacobs! And get outta my personal space!”

Davey leaned back into his seat. “I just thought I saw something familiar. Those people in the last picture they look familiar.”

Spot held his pictures to his chest for a while. After a while, he pulled them away from his chest and looked down at the pictures again. “I doubt ya know ‘em. They’re the Greeks we’re gonna meet tomorrow.”

“I probably don’t know them, but I think I saw them in my dreams last time.”

The shorter boy sighed and pulled out the picture. He showed it to the other. “This one?”

Davey inspected the picture carefully. It was a picture of Spot with three familiar figures and one Davey had never seen before.

The first one Davey noticed was a tall, lanky boy with curly, dirty-looking blonde hair and bright brown eyes with his arm extended that indicated he was the one taking the picture. He had an unlit cigar in his mouth and a crooked smile that looked like it meant trouble. Davey was surprised to see him with his arm around Spot’s waist. Spot never let anyone touch him, let alone get near him. It was also weird seeing Spot with a smile that looked genuine and happy. He looked younger in the photo though, so Davey figure that must’ve been the reason. The picture must’ve been taken years ago.

The next ones Davey noticed were the three he saw in his dreams. Davey reached out to take the picture but stopped himself. “May I?”

Spot hesitated. “Fine,” he said. “Only for a minute though.”

Davey looked over the three. They must’ve been friends of Spot’s. He examined the shorter boy first. He stood next to Spot with a huge grin on his face that could make anyone smile. He had sandy hair that was kind of messy and honestly looked so soft that Davey wanted to touch it. His bright brown eyes had a look of youthful innocence that reminded him of Les.

On the opposite side was the girl with bright red hair. Her hair wavy hair fell over her shoulders. She had fair skin that contrasted her bright hair. She was winking at the camera with one eye staring into the camera. Her one exposed eye was a mystifying shade of grey that was like looking into a storm cloud. They actually kind of freaked Davey out.

Finally, he saw the last boy. He had messy black hair that looked like he just rolled out of bed. His skin had a tannish look like he had been out in sun for a while. He had his arms around the other two demigods and his tongue sticking out. His eyes were a dark brown that had a sort of friendliness behind them. He looked like the kind of child actor that’d be in a teen movie. Davey had to admit that the boy was quite attractive.

Davey handed the picture back to Spot. “They’re the ones I saw in my dream. The three on the left.” Davey paused. “Wait, you know demigods from the other camp?”

“No, Jacobs, they broke into my apartment and took this picture while I was asleep. What do you think?” The sarcasm in his voice was just as thick as his accent.

Davey rolled his eyes. “How do you know them?”

Spot rolled his eyes back at Davey. “I’m from Brooklyn, Jacobs. I’ve seen ‘em around.”

Davey’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, really?!”

“Yeah,” Spot spoke like it was an everyday occurrence (which Davey supposed it was for him). Spot hesitated a moment. He looked around like someone might’ve been watching them. “Okay, listen up, Jacobs. I’m gonna tell ya somthin’ I haven’t told anyone else before. Not even Smalls knows ‘bout this, so you’re lucky I’m tellin’ you, got it?”

Davey was taken aback by the sudden change in tone but nodded in agreement.

Spot sighed. “Ya can’t even tell your sister, got it? No one!”

Davey nodded again.

Spot put the picture flat on the armrest between him and Davey. He pointed at the two boys. “Those twos…they’re my brothas.”

Davey raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yup. That one right there-” He pointed at the sandy-haired boy. “-that’s Charlie Morris, but we call ‘em Crutchie. He’s the little brotha.”

“Why? And why is his last name Morris and your is Conlon?”

Spot narrowed his eyes. “They’re my foster brothers. Stop askin’ questions. Ya wanna hear this or not?”

“Ugh, fine.”

He pointed to the handsome boy that had his arm around Crutchie. “That’s Jack Kelly. He’s ‘bout your age.”

Jack Kelly. That was a nice name. Really rolled off the tongue easily. Davey had mixed opinions on him. He had a pretty face, but he seemed like the kind of guy that was reckless and irresponsible.

Davey turned his attention to the one girl in the picture. “Who’s that?”

“Her? That’s Katherine Pulitzer. Her dad runs a bigshot newspaper company. She’s a real good friend of mine.”

Davey nodded.

“She’s single if you’re wonderin’.”

Davey felt his face go red. “What?! No! I was just-”

Spot held up his hands in defense. “Okay, okay. Gods, calm down. It was just a joke.”

Davey muttered something under his breath. He pointed to the other boy in the picture. “Who’s that?”

Spot put on a defensive look. “Now, he ain’t single if he’s the one you were starin’ at this whole time. That’s my boyfriend.”

Davey rolled his eyes again. “I wasn’t looking at anyone. I’m just curious.”

“Well, stop bein’ curious. We ain’t gonna see ‘im. Those three are the ones we’re meetin with tomorrow.”

Davey looked at the three again. “Oh really?”

“Yup.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Spot took the picture and stuffed it in his backpack with the rest of the pictures. It took him a while to answer. “I just thought you should know. I like you, Jacobs, and I thought it was just stuff you’d wanna know ‘cause your just the curious type.” He snickered. “Besides, if anyone found out ‘bout this, I’d lose lotta respect. You already got a reputation, so if you told anyone, they wouldn’t believe you.”

Davey’s smile faded. Why did he think Spot would actually open up to him just to be nice? He glanced toward Sarah.

“What about…” He nodded toward his sister. Sarah was leaning back with her book in her lap and fast asleep.

“I ain’t gonna tell her. I’m just gonna tell her their friends of mine.”

Davey nodded. He looked around again. “So…”

Spot narrowed his eyes. “So what?”

“Can I see the prophecy now?”

“No.” He shut his eyes and put his backpack under his seat. “Get some rest, Jacobs. We still got hours ahead of us.” He opened one eye. “And don’t even think ‘bout touching my backpack. I’ll know.” He closed his eyes and said nothing else.

Davey intertwined his fingers and rested his hands on his lap. He stared up and got lost in his thoughts. He feared to let himself drift off into slumber.

He let his mind wander to different things and people. His brother being taken. How worried his mom must’ve been. The mystery kid in his dream. Charlie Morris. Katherine Pulitzer. Spot. His sister. His dad. The kidnapped demigods. Jack Kelly…

He didn’t get a wink of sleep until they landed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda excited to write the next chapter! We get to meet the greek demigods!


	5. Greek Demigods

Davey looked out onto the small town as they landed.

He looked over at Sarah to see her stretching. She yawned. “We’re here already? That was fast.”

Davey blinked. He hadn’t slept the entire time, and with nothing to do, it was excruciatingly long. He smiled despite his tired state. “Heh…yeah.”

She put her things in her bag. “What time is it?”

“Like six something.” He checked his watch to see it was six twenty.

Spot sat up. He took one look at Davey and frowned. “I told ya to get some sleep last night, Jacobs.”

Davey groaned. “I know. I couldn’t though.”

Spot shook his head and sighed. “Ugh, you’re lucky we don’t gotta meet them until noon. You can take a quick nap in the hotel room.”

Davey turned back to Sarah and nearly jumped out of his seat when her face was right next to his. She crossed her arms. “Seriously, Dave?”

He sighed. “I know, I know.”

She fixed her ponytail, which was now disheveled. “It’s fine. We’ll get to the hotel, you can sleep, and we’ll head out. As simple as that. I mean what could go wrong so early in the morning?”

-

Turns out, there are quite a few things that could go wrong.

Out of everything that could go wrong in Davey’s mind, a monster attack was not high on the list. But here they were, fighting off a gorgon on a public bus. It wasn’t an ideal morning, but it was definitely a way to get rid of his tiredness.

Spot took his spear from his bag and began fighting the monster back. Davey drew his sword while Sarah grabbed a small dagger from her pocket. Davey took a slash at the gorgon but didn’t manage to land a hit.

There wasn’t much room to swing without knocking his arm against something. Luckily for them, there were only two other people on the bus, a man who was sleeping with a hood on and a woman who watched them with an expression of confusion. She got off the bus at the next stop.

The gorgon struck Spot down with a slash of her long claws. He held his arm in pain but got up almost immediately. There were claw marks that were oozing blood on his forearm. “It’s gonna take more than that if ya wanna take me down,” he said with a smirk.

The gorgon smiled, revealing sharp yellow teeth. “Oh? Well, perhaps the others will be easier.”

Sarah lunged at her with her daggers ready to pierce through the monster. The gorgon turned quickly and caught Sarah’s wrists. Sarah’s eye widened as she was thrown to the side.

Davey backed up as the gorgon slowly neared him. He gripped his sword tightly. When she was close enough, he swiped at her right side arm and landed a giant cut. She cried out as blood spouted everywhere. The gorgon glared at Davey. “You will pay for this, demigod!” She slashed at him again and this time struck him on his shoulder.

Davey felt a sharp pain as his hand moved to his shoulder. He removed his hand and looked down to see his hand covered in blood.

“David!” Sarah called out as she tried again to harm the monster. Spot joined Sarah at her side and they charged at the monster. Spot managed to land a few more hits while Sarah managed to get a good few cuts in.

The finishing blow was landed when a pole was thrown at right through the gorgon’s stomach. She screeched as she turned to dust and faded away. Davey wasn’t sure if that was Spot was Sarah that landed the lethal hit, but he was glad it was over.

Spot used his two fingers to pick up the gorgon’s blood and put it on his wound. In almost no time, the giant gash was gone.

He went over to Davey and did the same thing to Davey’s shoulder. The pain was ceased almost immediately. “You okay, Jacobs?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Spot stood up. “Great work rememberin’ the blood on the right side heals, Jacobs. And great work finishin’ her off.”

Davey raised an eyebrow. He put his sword away in his backpack. “What? I thought you did that.”

Spot looked back at him. “You didn’t do that? Alright then.” He turned to Sarah. “Great job finishin’ that monster off.”

Sarah stood up from healing her wounds. “What are you talking about? I thought that was Davey.”

Davey slung his backpack over his shoulder. “It wasn’t me. Wait, so who-”

“I’m the one yous should be thankin’.”

The man with the hoodie sat up from his seat and took off his hood.

Spot grinned widely. “Well, if it ain’t one of my favorite demigods! Jack Kelly!”

Davey had to do a double-take. The man who stood in front of them now didn’t look like the one in the picture. He was kind of a mess compared to what Davey saw in the photo.

Jack’s hair was like a bird’s nest. His skin was just a little paler and he had bloodshot eyes with bags under them. He looked just as sleep-deprived as Davey, maybe even more. He wore a dark brown, almost black hoodie with a plain white shirt underneath.

The boy smiled and made his way over to Spot. He was much shorter than Davey imagined. Not as short as Spot but still short. Jack wrapped Spot in a hug. Spot hesitated before hugging back. Jack released him and ran a hand through his messy hair.

“I didn’t know yous got here already. Crutchie and I woulda come to meet ya.”

Sarah looked from the two demigods to Davey. ‘What’s going on?’ She mouthed. Davey shrugged a response.

The dark-haired boy looked to Sarah and Davey like he just noticed them. “Who’re your friends here, Spotty?”

“Don’t call me that,” Spot muttered.

Sarah cleared her throat. “Hello there, I’m Sarah Jacobs.” She pointed at Davey. “And that’s my brother, David.”

Jack just nodded and turned back to Spot. His expression became more serious. “I was just headin’ back to meet Kath and Crutchie. We was gonna get ready to meet with yous ‘cause we found somethin’ ya might wanna see.”

“What is it?” Spot asked.

Jack shrugged. “Hell if I know, Kath’s the one with answers.” He looked out the bus window. “Anyway, this is my stop. I’ll see ya later, Spotty.” He passed Sarah and Davey. He put his hood back on.

The bus came to a stop, and he got off.

Sarah glanced at Davey. “I don’t think I like him very much. Seems kind of weird.”

Davey looked at her then out the window to watch Jack disappear. Davey had to kind of agree. Jack seemed like a bit of a pain, but they had to put up with him if they wanted to get anywhere in this quest.

-

Davey opened his eyes.

He was met with a familiar setting. A dark, gloomy city alleyway. He let out a breath. The only thing that seemed different was that that weird child was gone. He took a step forward and found his way out of the alley. The city was much smaller than he originally perceived it to be. It was a small town with a rural feel to it.

“Hello?” Davey called.

He heard the sound of footsteps behind him. It was like someone was running. A cold sensation flooded his body. It was the kid. That mystery child he had seen last time. “Hey, wait!” Davey called out to the kid.

The kid spun around. It was a young boy who looked to be about five or six. He pushed his shoulder-length black hair out of his face and wrung his hands nervously.

His eyes were wide with fear. “Pl-please,” he stuttered. His voice was soft and raspy. “Please, don’t… Please.”

Davey took a step back. “What? No, I’m not going to hurt you.” He knelt. He made his voice gentler. “I’m David. What’s your name?”

The boy backed up. “Stop!” His voice was full of fear. He turned and ran.

“Wait, I-”

A loud screech interrupted Davey. Davey looked up to see creatures with wings following the younger boy. The creatures looked to be Furies. Davey stood up.

“Stop! Leave me alone!” The young boy cried out. “Please stop!”

Davey couldn’t bear to see a young child like this. “Hey,” Davey called out, “Leave him alone!”

The monsters didn’t listen. They continued after the boy. Davey wanted to run after the kid, but he couldn’t move. His feet felt like they were glued to the floor. He tried to leave his spot but fell over.

The boy continued to run until he disappeared.

Davey got up and was able to move again. He blinked and the scene changed.

There was a dim light. The scene looked like he was deep inside a cave. Davey looked around the seemingly empty landscape.

“What do you mean they haven’t found him?!”

Davey gasped as he watched a figure come up from behind him. A tall, slim man with dark hair and business-like attire appeared. A lady followed him.

“It’s like he disappeared off the face of the Earth. We haven’t been able to track him in years,” she said. She grabbed for the man’s hand.

The man faced the woman and sighed. “Yes, I know…but we can’t stop looking. If that prophecy comes to pass-”

“It won’t, Hades. I’m sure he’s fine.”

Davey felt his head spin. Hades? As in the Greek god of the Underworld? He followed the couple to try to hear more about what was happening. It sounded like they lost someone.

The god shook his head. “He’s your son too, Persephone. If anything, he’s the most dangerous demigod out there.” Hades ran a hand through his hair. “It’s a good thing we decided to make him mortal because if he were fully a god… there would’ve been a lot more death a lot sooner.”

Persephone squeezed his hand. “Hades, he’s been gone for years now and hasn’t ended up here. Surely, he’s doing just fine. I highly doubt he even knows about the prophecy, let alone that he’s your son.”

The god of the Underworld took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. “I hope you’re right, darling.”

Davey had never felt so confused. What was even happening? The rulers of the Underworld had a son, and he’s lost? Was that it? What prophecy were they talking about?

He woke up.

Sarah was combing her hair. She had already changed her shirt and cleaned up from the fight earlier. “Morning sleepyhead,” she greeted him. “Get dressed, it’s almost eleven-thirty and we have to meet up at twelve.”

“Oh yeah, right.” Davey almost forgot about that after those weird dreams. “Where’s Spot?”

“In the restroom. He needed a shower after than throw down with the gorgon.”

Davey got up and unzipped his backpack. He threw his shirt to the ide and changed into a plain black t-shirt. He combed his disheveled hair down. “Sarah,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“I had another dream.”

She gave him a look. “Are you serious? That’s two in a row.”

“I know. This one was weirder than it was bad though.”

“What was it about?”

Davey hesitated. He took in a breath of air. “I think the Gods of the Underworld lost their son.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Davey continued. “It was the Greek one, Hades. He said something about a prophecy. Something about missing his son. And a lot of death…” Davey trailed off.

Sarah sat on the bed. “You don’t think…that’s our quest, right?”

Davey was snapped from his thoughts. “What?”

“I mean, think about it. You have a dream about some weird kid, we’re recruited to go on a quest, and now you dream about the god of the Underworld. It can’t be a coincidence.”

“Oh yeah! That reminds me I saw that kid again.”

Sarah slapped the back of his head. “You could’ve led with that!”

Davey rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah…anyway, he was being chased by Furies and looked really scared… I felt bad for him. He was crying and running and screaming at them to stop. I wish I could help him.”

Sarah put a hand on his shoulder. “We will, Dave. We’ll find him.”

“We don’t even know if that’s our quest. Spot doesn’t want to tell us anything about the stupid prophecy we have to complete! How are we supposed to help if we don’t know what’s going on?”

“I’m sure he’ll tell us when we meet up with the others.”

The door to the restroom opened. Spot was wearing a button-up flannel and jeans. “Oh good, you’re finally awake,” he said.

“Ready to go you twos?”

Davey and Sarah glanced at each other and nodded.

-

The three of them sat in a booth of a small café downtown.

Sarah had ordered a breakfast sandwich and an orange juice while Davey just got a simple coffee. Probably not the best choice considering how jittery he was already. Spot didn’t get anything.

“You sure you don’t want anything, Spot?” Sarah asked.

“I’m sure,” he answered. “I’m not hungry.”

Davey looked down at the table. He hadn’t told Spot anything about his dream yet. He wanted to hear what the quest was before going off on a rant about some kid they had to save.

Davey didn’t want to think about it anymore. The fear in the kid’s eyes. The way he cried to be left alone. Davey just hoped the kid had gotten away and found someone safe.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Hey, Spot!”

He looked up to see Jack and the other two demigods behind him. Jack looked much better than he had earlier. His hair was tamer and the bags from his eyes were completely gone. Instead of an old, faded hoodie, he wore Bob Ross t-shirt with a pair of jeans.

Spot stood up to greet them. “Hey, Jack.” He went to hug Katherine and then Crutchie. Davey saw why they called him Crutchie. He had a jacked-up leg and a crutch to help him walk.

Spot sat back down and Crutchie and Katherine sat next to him. Unfortunately, there was no more room on that side of the booth, so Jack sat next to Davey.

Jack nodded to greet him. “Hey there, Davey.”

Davey cringed at the nickname. Only his family called him Davey, and it was weird hearing it come from someone else’s mouth. “It’s David, actually.”

“I’m just gonna call ya Davey.”

Crutchie reached across the booth to shake Davey’s hand. “Hi! I’m Charlie, but you can call me Crutchie. It’s really nice to meet ya!”

Davey shook his hand. Crutchie had a sweet kind of innocence about him that Davey couldn’t help but smile.

Katherine smiled and reached out her hand. “I’m Katherine. It’s nice to meet you.” Davey shook her hand. “I’ve never met Roman demigods before.”

Spot cleared his throat.

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t count.”

Sarah interrupted. “Hi, I’m Sarah! It’s amazing to finally meet you guys! I’ve never met a Greek before!”

Katherine seemed a bit taken aback by Sarah’s upbeat attitude. “Uh, nice to meet you too.” She shook Sarah’s hand.

“So, now that we’re all here,” Spot said. “Jack said you guys found a lead or somethin’.”

“Oh, right!” Katherine opened her bag and took out a few papers and spread them across the table.

Spot picked up one of them. Davey moved one closer so he could read it. It was an article about earthquakes and odd weather patterns. He didn’t know exactly what that was supposed to mean, but it must have something to do with the quest. He still didn’t know what the quest was about though.

He looked at another article to see a similar headline. There was were a few articles about missing children.

Sarah was looking over an article too. “What does all this have to do with our quest?”

“It has a lot to do with the quest!” Katherine answered. “Didn’t you hear the prophecy?”

Sarah looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t heard it?” Crutchie asked.

“No,” Davey answered. “Spot doesn’t want to show us.”

Katherine gave Spot a look. “You haven’t told them?!”

“They know there’s a prophecy. I just haven’t told ‘em.”

“Do they even know what we’re looking for?”

Sarah spoke up. “We know we’re trying to find the missing demigods. Is there something else we’re looking for?”

Katherine glared at Spot with here stormy gray eyes. “Why haven’t you told them?”

Spot rolled his eyes. “’Cause if I tell them, they’re gonna flip out. That one-” He pointed at Davey “-he gets freaked out easily.”

Jack laughed. Davey shot him a glare, which he didn’t even seem to notice.

Spot cleared his throat. “I ain’t gonna show him the prophecy, but I’ll tell ‘em what we’re doin’.” He sat up straight. “Listen,” his voice became serious, “this is important. We’re lookin’ for a demigod. A real dangerous demigod. It’s said that he can determine whether the world ends in the next few weeks or not. The kid is-”

“The son of Hades,” Davey finished.

Spot’s eyebrow’s shot up. He seemed momentarily surprised. “Yeah…how’d you know?”

Davey hesitated. “I had another dream last night. I saw the same kid from my last dream and the Greek god of the Underworld was there too. It was weird.”

Spot nodded slowly.

Crutchie put a paper down. “That…that must be the kid we’re after. We gotta help him.”

“Plus, we might be able to find the other demigods too,” Katherine added. “They have to be connected somehow.”

Jack said nothing. He just sat back with arms crossed, listening intently.

Sarah put her paper down. “So, that’s what these articles are for. How do we know how to find him though?”

“Children of Hades are said to be able to create earthquakes and drop the temperature,” Katherine explained. “I did some research, and may have found his location.”

“May have?” Davey asked.

“Yeah, because there are reports like this from a few other places. This is the first place we should start.”

“Where is it?”

“The capital of Kansas. That’s why we wanted to meet in Kansas. Topeka, Kansas is only thirty minutes away by bus, so we can leave in an hour and be there while there’s still light out.”

“Sounds good,” Spot said. “We’ll meet outside this café in an hour ‘cause there’s a bus stop right across the street. Got it?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Time to find ourselves the Prince of the Underworld.”


	6. Bus Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have a really plot-heavy chapter, but I didn't want to post it just yet. So, here's a little filler before we go into some action. Hope you enjoy it! (Sorry, if it's kinda sucky. I just wanted to post something. I haven't posted for this story in a while.)

“So, why won’t you show it to us?”

Spot groaned. “This again…”

Davey crossed his arms. “Don’t ‘this again’ me. They’ve read the prophecy, and we don’t even get to know what’s going on! I think there’s something wrong with that.”

“Davey’s right,” Sarah cut in. “You can’t just keep us in the dark here. We’re part of this quest too.”

Davey noticed Spot shoot them a look of annoyance. “Yeah, you are. But, I’m still yer praetor, so I can tell ya whatever I want.”

Sarah groaned. She shut her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. “Ugh, come on! How are we supposed to know what to do if you don’t tell us?”

Spot shut the door to their room behind them and continued to walk without another word. He was walking pretty fast.

Davey sped up to catch up with him. He tried his best to sound calm. “Come on, Spot. If you can give us at least one reason why you aren’t telling us, then we’ll drop the topic.”

“We will?” Sarah asked.

Davey turned to Sarah. “Yes, we will.”

Spot spun around on his heels with an impatient expression. “You really wanna know why I don’t tell yous? It’s ‘cause every time there’s a stupid prophecy and it mentions someone in it, they freak out and try to change crap they shouldn’t be messin’ with. And you know what? That always makes things worse. And you bein’ the stubborn and anxious person you are, Jacobs, you’re gonna do exactly that. Is that a good enough reason?”

Davey hated how right he was. He’d heard stories about people in the past try to change their fate only for it to lead to tragedy. He was also one who hated having things out of his control. That’s probably why he had a, to say the least, shaky relationship with his dad.

Sarah crossed her arms. “I guess that’s a satisfactory answer…for now. That does sound like Dave.”

“Hey!”

She smiled and shrugged. “What? It’s true. You can be a pain, you know.”

Davey rolled his eyes. “I know, but you don’t have to say it out loud,” he muttered under his breath.

“If we’re done stating the obvious, we should get goin’. The bus leaves in a few minutes.”

It didn’t take long to get to the bus stop from where they were, so it wasn’t long before they got there. Jack, Crutchie, and Katherine were already there. Katherine was studying the bus schedule while Jack and Crutchie were talking about who knows what. Katherine looked up and smiled.

“There you guys are,” she said. “Ready to go?”

As if on cue, a bus pulled up only seconds after she spoke. They sat near the back of the bus where there were fewer people. The six of them sat in silence for what seemed like forever until Crutchie finally spoke up.

Crutchie sat up and looked over his seat at Davey and Sarah. “So, you’re both children of Poseidon? What’s that like?” He rested his chin in the palm of his hand. Curiosity and optimism were obvious in his voice. “It must be cool, huh?”

“Uh, I guess,” Davey replied. “Except, our dad’s not Poseidon. He’s Neptune.”

“Same difference.” Jack popped up next to Crutchie. “They’re the same thing, and it don’t matter ‘cause no one can tell the difference.”

Davey opened his mouth to speak, but Sarah beat him to it. “Uh, no. Unlike your god of the sea, our dad is said to be a lot more destructive and sterner. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”

Jack elbowed the boy next to him and said something to him that Davey couldn’t quite hear. Crutchie elbowed Jack back, and they both laughed. Davey crossed his arms. “What’s so funny?”

Jack’s laughter died down. “Nothin’. Nothin’.” He pat Crutchie on the back. “I’m gonna put my headphones on, okay?” He had that same mischievous grin he always had. “Later Sarah.” He winked. “Bye Davey.”

“It’s David,” he muttered under his breath.

Jack sunk back down leaving Crutchie facing him and Sarah. Crutchie let his arms dangle from the seat.

“Is he always such an ass?” Sarah asked.

“I heard that,” Jack said.

“Put your headphones on already, Jackie,” Crutchie said, bringing his arm up to presumably hit Jack over the head. Crutchie looked down at him for a while longer and then focused on Davey and Sarah. “He can be like that sometimes, but he’s a real softie once you get to know him, just like Spotty over there.” He lowered his voice on the final few words and looked over at Spot to make sure he hadn’t heard. “So, you never really told me what it’s like bein’ a kid of the Big Three. Yous got special powers or…?”

“Oh! I can control water,” Sarah said excitedly. She always loved talking about how she managed to control her powers.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool, you twos can do that!”

“Well…Davey can’t,” Sarah replied.

“Yes, I can,” Davey argued. “I just choose not to.”

Crutchie tilted his head like a little kid. “Why not? You’re a kid of The Big Three! You’re pretty powerful! That must be awesome!”

Davey scrunched up his nose as if the last statement smelled like someone died. “You keep saying that, but it’s not as cool as you’d think. Plus, there’s no one else out there like us.” Davey looked down. Not wanting to see those innocent-looking, big brown eyes.

There was silence. Davey thought Crutchie had sat back down until he spoke again. “Don’t be so overdramatic. There are others like yous.”

Davey snapped his head up. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sarah look up at the young boy too. “What do you mean?”

Crutchie sighed. He crossed his arms on the seat and rested his chin in the crook of his elbow. “Like that kid, ya know? Now, we know you ain’t the only kids of The Big Three ‘cause we got a kid of Hades runnin’ ‘round here somewhere. We just gotta find him, and the three of yous can work whatever’s goin’ on together.”

Davey just stared at him. That sounded just like something his little brother might say when he knew something was up with Davey. He felt a knot forming in his stomach at the thought of Les. That he wasn’t safe. That his mother was worried sick about him. He bit his bottom lip.

_Don’t worry, Les. We’re coming for you. Hopefully…_

He looked at Sarah, who had a smile tugging at her lips. He knew she must’ve been thinking of Les too. “You sound just our little brother. How old are you again?”

“Fourteen.” Crutchie smiled. “But Jack and Spot treat me like I’m still a little kid.”

“That’s ‘cause you are one,” Jack’s voice said.

Jack leaned over to peak across the seat. He had an amused look on his face. Davey rolled his eyes, which made Jack laugh.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Davey-”

“David,” Davey corrected.

“Whatever. But come on, don’t be so uptight. We ain’t even technically started the quest.” He smiled. Davey couldn’t help but notice how his dark eyes glinted in the bright sunlight that shone through the window.

He blinked and pulled his gaze away from Jack’s. “Uptight? Don’t you think you’re being a bit too laidback about the situation.”

Jack gave half a shrug. “Nah.” His grin widened. “You know who else is takin’ this way too seriously?” He glanced and Crutchie and raised his voice. Crutchie must’ve understood whatever it was he was saying because he began to smile too.

“Oh, you mean Kath? Yeah, she is bein’ uptight,” Crutchie said with a raised voice.

Katherine automatically popped up from behind Davey and Sarah. Her eyes narrowed but a smile was on her face. “Hey, for your information, Spot and I were the only ones who did any actual research.”

Jack held up his hands defensively. He spoke melodramatically. “Oh, my apologies, your highness! I shoulda done my homework!”

Katherine shook her head and laughed. Crutchie adjusted himself to sit up better. “What do ya expect from a daughter of Athena?”

“Shut up,” Katherine laughed. She cleared her throat. “Besides, we’re almost there. We have like half an hour left.”

Jack groaned. “Ugh, this is so boring! Especially if he’s gonna be fussy the entire trip.” He motioned toward Davey. Davey glared daggers at him. “Why’d you twos have to drag me along?”

“You were the one who wanted to come!” Katherine exclaimed.

“You shoulda stopped me!”

“Well, you’re here now, so stop complaining.”

“It’s okay, Jackie. At least we’re gonna be bored together,” Crutchie said.

Jack nodded. “I guess that’s true.”

“Now that that problem’s solved,” Spot intervened, “could you just shut up already, Jack!”

Jack gave one last smile and put a pair of headphones over his ears. “Fine.”

Crutchie sat back down and Katherine sat back in her seat.

Sarah leaned over to Davey and lowered her voice. “Wow…I really don’t like him.” She nodded to Jack. “He’s kind of…”

“Rude? Obnoxious? Probably just doesn’t want to be here.”

“Yeah.”

Davey sighed. “Well, if he keeps up that attitude, this is going to be a long trip.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's reading this story! I'm really having fun with it and thanks for making it this far in the story! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I can't wait the write the next one! :)


	7. The Others

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, there is a little blood and close deaths in this chapter, so... yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a month since my last chapter. Probably because this is longer than my other chapters and I was finally able to sit and finish it because of the whole virus thing. Anyway, enjoy!

“Well that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Spot brushed the dirt off his pants. He let out a frustrated sigh. “No, Crutchie, course not. We just got attacked by a damn fury on the bus and got our articles of any evidence of what we were looking for shredded to pieces! It was a walk in the park!” His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

“Just tryn’ to lighten the mood,” the blonde boy muttered.

“You’re not wrong though,” Sarah interjected as Davey helped her up. “Things could’ve been much worse.”

Katherine slung her bag over her shoulder. “How so?”

“No one died.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jack said with his usual smirk. “I’m dead…on the inside.”

Katherine rolled her eyes and smiled. “Alright, Edgelord, get up.” She gently kicked him until he eventually sat up. Katherine walked away from him and scanned the area. “We’re not going on a bus anytime soon,” she muttered under her breath.

Davey sheathed his sword and stored it away in his backpack. He stepped next to Katherine and looked around. “So, what are we supposed to do now?”

She shrugged. “It’s not too far from here. We can just walk the rest of the way there.” She glanced back. “If we’re all fine, that is.”

Davey looked back to see how everyone was. Everyone seemed fine for the most part, just a little scratched up was all. “I think we can manage,” Davey said.

He figured he’d just follow along with whatever Katherine or Spot said because they seemed to know what they were talking about. Heck, he didn’t even know what they were doing! Let alone where they were. He’d just take the backseat for now until he figured things out.

Plus, he trusted Katherine enough for someone he met just earlier today. She seemed smart and level-headed compared to…well, the other two. And she was only a little intimidating.

Katherine clapped her hands together. “Well gang,” she announced, “I have some good news and some bad news! The good news is that we’re almost there! The bad news is that we have to walk.”

This earned two loud groans from Crutchie and Jack.

Spot lifted Jack from the position he was sitting in, making him stand up. They gave each other a look that must’ve meant something between them because Jack just rolled his eyes and walked away.

“Let’s get goin’ if we wanna be there before it gets dark,” Spot said.

Everyone grabbed their bags, and they were on their way. Katherine led the way while Jack and Crutchie strayed toward the back of the group. Davey managed to catch up to Katherine and walked alongside her.

“So, you know where you’re going, right?” Davey asked.

Her lip twitched. “Well… for the most part.”

Davey sighed. She was one of the Greeks after all. “So, we’re just walking blindly through the woods? We’re going to get lost that way. You don’t have a map or anything?”

Katherine turned to him with a small smile. Her storm cloud eyes filled with amusement. “Oh, don’t be so cynical. It’s a quest! Half the fun is not knowing what’s going on!”

Davey crossed his arms. “It’d be pretty useful to know what’s going on though,” he muttered.

“It would,” Katherine responded, “but it’d also be pretty useful if you’d lighten up a little. Crutchie was right, you are a bit uptight, aren’t you?”

Davey was beginning to hate that people were seeing him as “uptight”. He wasn’t uptight. He just happened to be taking the task at hand seriously, which everyone else should be doing. Before he could respond, Katherine continued.

“Also, I do know where we’re going. We’re supposed to be headed east, and that’s exactly where we’re going. As long as we don’t run into any monsters along the way, I think we’ll be fine.”

Davey looked back to see how Crutchie and Sarah were talking about something and laughing. Jack was quietly walking behind them. Spot was telling him something, but Jack just shrugged with little to no energy. His usual smug grin was almost non-existent at the moment.

Davey was having a hard time reading Jack. He saved them the first time they met and in Spot’s photo, he looked so happy. But there was something about him. Something that just annoyed Davey. Maybe it was his sarcastic attitude or just the fact that he didn’t have respect for seemingly anyone. There was something about Jack that annoyed yet intrigued Davey.

Davey glanced at Katherine. “Hey, Katherine?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you about-”

“Hold that thought.” She held her arm out to stop the group in front of an open field. Sarah bumped into Davey.

She gave him a questioning look to which he responded with a simple ‘I don’t know’ look. Sarah took a step back and scanned the area. “What are we looking at?”

Katherine brought her finger up to her lips. She looked back and motioned for Spot to join her. Spot gave Jack one last look and made his way up to Katherine. “What’s up?”

She motioned toward the field. “You’re the son of a war god, so you know traps and stuff like that, right? Do you see that?”

Spot knelt to get a closer look. He squinted until he finally nodded. His eyes widened after a moment of examination. “Holy crap…” He stood up.

“Are you guys going to tell us what’s going on or…?” Sarah put her hands on her hips awaiting an answer.

Katherine sighed. “Just take a look for yourself.”

Davey and Sarah exchanged a glance and looked out into the field. Sarah was the first of the twins to give up finding what they were looking for.

“Ugh… I don’t get it. What are we looking for?”

Spot pointed across the field to behind a tree. “There. Some demigods are hidin’ out behind that tree. Ya can’t see ‘em well because they’re usin’ a spell or something to keep themselves hidden.”

“Demigods?” Davey crossed his arms. “What are a bunch of demigods doing out here? And, where are they?”

“Gods, Davey, you ask too many questions,” Jack said coming up behind him.

“David,” he corrected.

“Whatever. Anyway, you do make a good point though. What are a bunch of demigods doing out here?”

Spot shrugged. “Don’t know.”

Crutchie hobbled forward, his leg dragging. “Why don’t we go ask? Just get a straightforward answer, ya know? Worst case scenario: we end up fighting.”

Sarah nodded. “True. I’ve never been on a quest, but I think we can beat them if we end up in a fight.” She put an arm around Davey’s shoulder. “Dave and I make a great team, so we’d take them out like that.” She snapped her fingers.

Spot and Katherine exchanged a look. They nodded. “Alright. Let’s go but be ready for a fight, just in case,” Spot said. “Come on.”

The group made their way across the field with Spot and Katherine leading them. Davey still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he figured he’d follow along. Once they got to the end of the field, a man appeared from seemingly nowhere. He had a helmet on, so they could only see his eyes. He held a long bronze sword in front of him. “Halt!”

Katherine put her hands up. “Woah! No need for that. We’re demigods too, don’t worry. My name is Katherine, daughter of Athena. And this is Spot, son of Mars.”

The man brought his sword down. This guy was big. His body type kind of reminded Davey of the guys from his nightmare where Les was being kidnapped.

The man was tall with a muscular build. Davey didn’t know about the others, but he got an ominous feel from this guy. He took off his helmet o reveal a large scar on the side of his face. He had a mop of dark brown hair that was cut short. When he smiled, his scar on his face scrunched up in an ugly way. His eyes scanned their group and landed on Davey. “Don’t worry, I know who most of ya are.”

Davey felt a shiver down his spine. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Katherine’s eyes widened. “Oscar Delancey?!” She took a step forward. “B-but I thought you and your brother went missing weeks ago! We thought you two were kidnapped!”

The man, apparently named Oscar Delancey, shrugged nonchalantly. “Nah, we’re fine.” He glanced back. “Why don’t you come in? You all look beat up, and we got plenty of room.”

Katherine looked hesitant. She bit her bottom lip and looked over at Spot. Spot spoke up. “I’m sorry, but who are ya?”

Oscar smiled again, causing his scar to contract in that ugly way again. “So sorry, son of Mars. Let me introduce myself. The names Oscar Delaney. My brother, Morris, and I are sons of Nemesis. We’re Greek unlike…” His gaze drifted back to Davey. “… some of you. Anyway, my offer still stands if yous want to come in.”

“In?”

“We set up camp here. We’ll explain everything.”

Spot glanced back at the rest of them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Crutchie wince and Jack shrug indifferently. Spot sighed. “Fine, but don’t try anything funny.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Davey already didn’t like this guy. He had a shady feel to him, but if Katherine knew him, Davey guessed he’d try to be on his best behavior.

Oscar turned and lifted a tarp Davey hadn’t noticed before. It was perfectly camouflaged into their surroundings. Katherine followed Spot inside, then Sarah, then Jack and Crutchie. The two looked cautious when entering the area. Finally, Davey went in last. He jumped when the bigger man closed the tarp. Davey’s hand immediately reached for his sword.

Oscar laughed. “Calm down, kid. Just… somethin’ about you seems familiar. What’s your name? And who’s your godly parent?”

Davey swallowed hard. “Uh…” Was he really going to give his name to a stranger? A stranger he didn’t trust at that. “I’m not comfortable giving my name to strangers. But I am the son of Neptune.”

Oscar nodded with a look that said he was deep in thought. Without another word, he lifted the tarp, and Davey walked quickly inside.

Then everything seemed like a blur. He tripped on something and reached out for the first thing he could grab onto. He felt his fingers grasp onto some cloth and pull downward. He stood up to find he was grabbing onto someone’s shirt.

“Slow down, Davey, at least buy me dinner first.” Jack smirked.

Davey felt his cheeks burn. “I didn’t mean to! It was grab onto you or fall flat on my face!”

Jack winked. “Aw, don’t worry, Davey. I know the effect I got on people.”

Davey wanted to continue to argue with the other boy but stopped himself. He looked around and saw that the area was massive. There was a high ceiling and a large area that was empty except for a few bags. It took a while for Davey to notice there were two other boys inside the structure.

One of them had similar dark, greasy hair to Oscar’s. He also had a similar scar as Oscar’s except his was a bit smaller and on the opposite side of his face. His skin was fairly pale. What caught Davey’s attention though was his shirt. A dirty orange t-shirt with the sleeves torn off and read ‘Camp Half-Blood’ on the front. It reminded Davey, once again, of his nightmare of Les.

The other boy was pretty scrawny with curly brown hair. His arms were covered in dirt and hardened mud. He was wearing a long-sleeve with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wasn’t paying any mind to them. He was too busy cleaning off a sword that didn’t look too traditional to normal demigod weapons. This sword looked steel rather than bronze. An odd choice, Davey though, but whatever worked for him.

“Skittery! Where ya been buddy?” Crutchie exclaimed with relief present in his voice.

The boy in the pink shirt looked up. He smiled tiredly. “Hey fellas.”

“Dammit, Skits!” Jack exclaimed. “Ya scared us half to death when ya went missin’! What the hell happened?”

Skittery let out a puff of air through his nose. He mumbled something under his breath.

Jack’s raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

Before the young boy could answer, Oscar spoke up. “Now, why don’t yous take a seat. Ya seem tired.” He sat cross-legged next to the man with the identical scar. He seemed so calm that Davey was a little suspicious. Davey could feel that the others felt the same.

Nonetheless, everyone hesitantly took a seat. Davey was stuck next to Jack, who he kept shooting glances because it was hard to read his expression in the dim light. And the shadows from the lighting may or may not have been casting gentle shadows that brought out some features such Davey hadn’t noticed before on Jack’s face. Davey blinked and pried his gaze away from the other boy.

Jack spoke almost immediately after sitting down. “Well, Oscar, you’ve never been nice to us before or been the most trustworthy guy, so mind telling us why you’re tryin’ to be so nice?”

“Yeah,” Crutchie chimed in. “You and Morris have always made fun of us. What gives?”

The boy next to Oscar looked up. “Aw, come on Crip- er, I mean, Charlie. That was in the past. We’ve changed.”

“It was literally a month ago, Morris.”

“That’s the past.” Morris stood up.

Davey noticed a mark on his right arm. He couldn’t quite make it out though. Gods, he needed glasses.

Morris walked behind the kid named Skittery. “Besides, Skittery here already forgave us. And we’re all good friends here, ain’t we?”

Skittery placed his sword next to him. “Yup. Forgive and forget.”

“But you’ve never been one to ‘forgive and forget’, Skits,” Jack said suspiciously. “They bribing you or somethin’?”

Skittery shook his head. He looked up at Jack and immediately looked down.

Oscar chuckled. “Of course, we didn’t bribe the poor kid. We didn’t need to anyway. We’re all the same here.” He stood up and walked behind the kid. Davey noticed a similar mark on Oscar’s arm. Oscar put his hands behind his back.

Davey chewed on his bottom lip. He was anxious to get out of there.

Katherine spoke now. “True. And if you don’t mind me asking, what happened? If you three are here, demigods we thought went missing, why are you all out here?”

Oscar’s smile widened. “To look for the prince of course. As I said, we’re all the same here.”

“The son of Hades…” Katherine muttered. She sounded suspicious. “But- But that information is classified. The only people that know about it is us and Chiron.”

Morris laughed. “That old horse ain’t doin’ a good job at keeping things classified, is he? ‘Course we know the prophecy. Well… we don’t know it word for word, but we knows the gist of it.”

“Which is?” Sarah inquired.

“Ya know, the Prince of the Underworld is supposed to have this final throwdown with the son of Neptune to determine the downfall of the gods and the rise of Kronos. Ya know? All that good stuff.”

Davey’s chest tightened. He didn’t know he was supposed to fight. How was he supposed to fight someone so powerful? And at that _a kid_! Someone probably less than half his age. And whether he won or lost determined the fate of the gods? This would’ve been useful to know when coming on the quest!

“So, you’re trying to help prevent the downfall of the gods by finding this kid?”

Finally, Skittery smiled for the first time. He laughed. “No way! We’re trying to _help_ the downfall of the gods!”

Davey’s stomach twisted, and he stood up immediately. “What?!”

Katherine jumped up too. “Skittery, what are you saying?”

“Yeah, Skits. Stop kiddin’ around,” Jack said. This was the first time Davey heard him nervous. “Ya don’t really mean that, right?”

Skittery stood up slowly and took his sword in his hand. He had a dark expression on. “Kidding? I’ve never been more serious.”

Oscar patted the shorter boy’s back. “Why don’t ya help our guests get comfy? They’re gonna be here a while.”

Spot suddenly jumped at the boy, his spear in hand. Skittery shot out of the way and swiped his sword at Spot’s leg. Spot grunted in pain as he landed on his injured leg. Skittery walked over to him. “Sorry, Spot.”

He raised his sword into the air and brought it right down into Spot’s calf on his already injured leg. Spot screamed out in pain. Blood oozed out in all directions, the smell of copper soon filled the air. 

Skittery removed the sword, leaving a huge opening. Dark red liquid poured out of the giant gash. Davey wanted to throw up at the sight of how much blood was on the sword when Skittery pulled it out of the deep cut.

Skittery mumbled something and motioned toward their group with his free hand.

Davey tried to stand up but his limbs felt numb. His legs wouldn’t move and neither did his arms. He looked over at Jack and saw him struggling too. The dark-haired boy grunted as he struggled to move his limbs.

“Ah! What did you do to us?!” Sarah exclaimed.

Oscar chuckled. “It’s just a simple spell that disables your limbs for a little while,” he explained. “Well done, son of Hecate.”

“Thanks. To be honest, I didn’t think that would work. Imagine if it didn’t.” Skittery laughed nervously.

“Well, it did and that’s all that matters.” He turned his attention toward the group. “Anyway, we’ll be takin’ what we need. Morris.”

Suddenly, Davey felt two large arms wrap around his waist and lift him. He let out a gasp. “Hey, put me down!”

Davey wanted to kick and draw his sword to fight off the man but couldn’t. He just felt so useless.

“Dave!” Sarah practically screamed. “Put him down! Stop it!”

“Sorry toots,” Morris said, “but your brother here is too important to let ‘im be wanderin’ around. He’s gonna ruin our plan.”

“Plan? What could you three possibly do that’s dangerous?” Jack commented.

Davey could think of a few things. In every scenario he could think of, he ended up dead.

“Three?” Morris said. Davey could feel the man’s breath on his neck. It caused a shiver to go down his spine. “You asked what happened to the other demigods, and this is what happened to ‘em. A rebellion started at camp. The kids who knew the truth. The kids who knew the gods never did nothin’ good for us. We started a group that’s tryin’ to take down our good for nothin’ parents. When we thought we were bein’ figured out, we left camp. Even got a few Romans to join us too.”

Katherine gasped. “No… no, that can’t be true. They were taken- “

“One was taken,” Oscar interjected, “and he wasn’t even a demigod. I think you know ‘im, don’t ya son of Neptune? He knew you.”

Les. He was talking about Les. His stomach tightened so much it hurt. He wanted to kick and scream and just kill these two. They were the guys from his nightmare. The ones who kidnapped his brother. Davey felt heat rise in his chest.

“Les!” Sarah screamed. “Don’t you do anything to him! Leave him alone!”

Davey could see the anger in Sarah’s face. She would’ve killed Morris and Oscar if she could.

Davey wanted to run over to her and reassure her that everything would be fine.

“I think we got bigger issues to worry about than your little brother,” Jack commented. “He ain’t important right now.”

Davey’s head whipped to look at Jack. “What do you mean he’s not important? Jack, that’s my little brother you’re talking about!”

“Well, he ain’t here now, is he? He’s gone, so we gotta focus on this right now, Mr. Uptight.”

Davey felt his anger grow stronger.

“Sorry, to break up this wonderful group, but we gotta get goin’,” Oscar said. “We gotta make sure this son of Neptune doesn’t get the way of our little plan.”

Davey felt his blood boil. Not only were these the guys that kidnapped his brother, but they wanted to take him as well. And the worst part was that they could! And adding insult to injury, Jack was insulting him.

It all made him feel so… so useless. So helpless. So angry. He hated it. He hated feeling useless. He hated knowing his family was suffering. He hated it all.

There was a sudden burst of water from the ground. It wasn’t that big though. It hit Oscar right in the face.

“Dammit,” Sarah murmured. “I was expecting more.”

Oscar wiped the water off with his forearm. “Take the girl too. She could be useful.”

That was the final straw. He felt his eardrums pop. “No!”

Another burst of water rose from the ground. It was much bigger than the last one. It was so big that it knocked a few people back. The water split into three streams as if it had a mind of its own. Two of them shot down Oscar and Morris. The third shot down Skittery.

Davey fell from Morris’s grasp. He watched as more water broke through the Earth and wrapped around the three demigods. It encased them until their entire body was stuck inside a small bubble.

Davey felt his arms begin to twitch. He moved them. He moved his legs. He noticed everyone else was beginning to move. Katherine and Crutchie rushed to Spot’s side.

Davey wanted to get up and run to his sister, but he felt his stomach in way too much pain to move.

Another burst of water came from the ground. This one right under Jack.

Jack looked down horrified. He couldn’t scream because the water encased his head in the water.

“Sarah, what are you doing?!” Katherine took her attention away from Spot. “Stop!”

Sarah brought her hands up. “I’m not the one doing this! I can control water but not like this! This is some next-level crap!”

Davey managed to sit up. He saw the girls rushing over to him but could barely hear what they were saying over the ringing in his ears.

“David! Let them go! You’re hurting them! At least don’t kill Jack!”

“Dave, you’re going to kill them! You have to stop!”

Davey looked wearily over at Jack. The boy had fallen to his knees and was grasping at his throat. His face was turning red from trying to hold his breath.

He turned to the other three. Skittery was waving his arms around, trying to escape. The other two held their hands to their faces and were trying their best to hold their breath but couldn’t.

It was a surreal experience. He wanted to go tell Jack that’s what he deserved for making fun of him. He wanted to let the three others stay in there forever, or at least until they weren’t breathing. He wanted to laugh and say they all got what they deserved. But another part of him was scared. He wanted to let them all out and go cry in a corner.

He felt a pair of strong arms on his shoulders. Somehow Spot had made his way over to Davey. He was shaking him. “Snap out of it, Jacobs! You’re gonna kill them!”

He glanced past him to see Jack on the ground. His hair gently sawing in the water around his head. His eyes closed, air bubbles leaving his mouth. He wasn’t moving.

“Jack…” He murmured under his breath.

The water fell from all four demigods. Skittery, Morris, and Oscar fell to the ground. Skittery was gasping for breath. “Oh, my gods…”

The other two were coughing up water. They gasped for air. Before they could stand up, an arrow shot them each right in the back of their necks. They each passed out. Davey saw an arrow hit Skittery out of the corner of his eye. He passed out too.

“Serves those three right,” Crutchie’s voice said. Davey looked up to see Crutchie put his bow down as he knelt next to Jack.

Davey blinked a few times. The pain in his stomach deteriorated, and the ringing in his ears was almost gone. He groaned in pain.

The realization of what he did hit him. He was both terrified and proud of himself. “Oh my…Oh geez, what have I done?” He stood up; his knees felt like jelly.

He stumbled over to where Jack and Crutchie were. “Is he going to be okay? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to! I wasn’t thinking!”

Crutchie sighed. “Thankfully, he’s still got a pulse. A little pale, but he’ll be fine.”

Davey looked down horrified. Jack’s tan skin was now pale. He looked like a corpse. He thought Jack was annoying but not to the point he wanted to kill him!

“Sarah and I will help Spot walk. David, you’re carrying Jack,” Katherine instructed, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “Crutchie, you think you’ll be able to take care of both of them?”

Crutchie nodded. “If anyone can, it’s me. I am the son of the god of healing after all. We should probably get outta here before my arrows wear off though. I’ll bandage up Spot then we can head out.”

Davey felt himself shaking as he looked down at Jack. He couldn’t believe he did that.

He couldn’t believe he was capable of doing that. Or thinking those horrible thoughts…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I can get the next chapter out soon. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I had fun writing it!  
> Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See ya'll later!


	8. I'm Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! And this one's got some Crutchie moments! Yay!

Davey was anxious.

His hands were still shaking and his head still spinning from what just happened. He couldn’t help but pace back and forth as his sister spoke words he was barely listening to.

All he could think about was Jack. The way he looked sprawled across the floor, his hair a mop of black mess matted to his forehead. His skin was paler than the first time he met him. He looked like a corpse that washed up onshore. It scared Davey to see what he could do.

What scared Davey more was what he was thinking in the act. For an instant, he liked it. He enjoyed watching the people who he disliked so much at the moment hurt the way he did. Now, that it all passed, Davey regretted it wholeheartedly. No matter how much he despised or got annoyed by someone, he’d never want them dead.

“Dave, are you listening to me?”

“Huh?”

Sarah groaned in frustration. “Did you even hear a word I said?! Like, even one word?”

Davey slumped down against a tree. “Sorry, Sarah. I was just thinking.” He buried his face in his hands. “I just feel so bad about earlier.”

Sarah sat next to him and undid her ponytail. She sighed. “You should feel bad, Dave. The other three, I guess the world could do without… but, as much as you don’t like him, you almost killed an innocent man.” Her expression became somber. “What was that? I’ve never seen you do something like that.”

Davey shrugged. “I…” He looked everywhere but his sister. “I don’t know. It just happened. It’s not like I could control it! I could barely think straight! I’m sorry! I-I…”

Sarah put an arm around him. “Hey,” she spoke in a gentle, reassuring voice, “it’s done already. You didn’t mean it, right?”

 _I don’t know._ “N-no,” he replied.

She sighed again. “I’m not going to tell you what you did was alright, or that everything will be okay. You just have to learn to control whatever that was. Okay?”

Davey nodded slowly.

“Okay, because Spot was pretty pissed at you, and he probably still is. I think Katherine’s mad too, but it’s hard to tell with her sometimes.”

“I figured that much. I mean, I almost drowned his brother.”

Sarah raised her eyebrow. “His brother?”

Davey snapped out of his daze. He forgot Spot hadn’t told her that. “Huh?”

“You said he was Spot’s brother.”

“Oh yeah…” Davey looked around to see if anyone was listening. “He told me not to tell anyone. I don’t know why though. Apparently, he, Jack, and Crutchie are brothers, but foster brothers.”

Sarah let out a snicker. “I mean, I’d be embarrassed if those two were my brothers too. Well, maybe not Crutchie. He’s a sweetheart.”

“Just don’t tell him I told you. He’d be even angrier at me,” Davey said.

“Of course not.”

They sat there in silence before Katherine came up to them, arms crossed. “Congratulations, you don’t have a body count.” She paused. “As far as I’m concerned.”

Davey sighed with relief. “So, he’s fine? Is Jack awake? I need to apologize!”

Katherine took in a deep breath. “Not yet. He’s mostly fine though. You want to see him?”

Davey swallowed hard and simply nodded.

He looked over at Sarah, who gave him a reassuring nod. She removed her arm from around her brother. Davey stood up and followed Katherine over to a cluster of trees that were so close together and the leaves so thick that the light was dim, giving a calm feeling to the area. Crutchie had insisted on taking care of Spot and Jack in a more closed off area, in case there were other demigods or monsters around.

Katherine motioned her head left. “That way. Just try not to kill anyone.”

“Seems easy enough,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Katherine’s expression remained the same. He laughed nervously and turned away to avoid the awkward tension.

He walked into the closed-off area, and immediately found Spot and Crutchie speaking in hushed voices. Jack was laying right next to Crutchie, his face still pale and his hair a mess. Spot noticed Davey almost immediately and glared at him.

Spot raised his voice. “If it ain’t the all-mighty Fish Jesus. You think you’re so cool now ‘cause you got your powers to work?”

Davey kept his head down. He could practically feel the irritation radiating off the praetor. That just made Davey shrink back even more than he already was. “No, sir,” he murmured in a scratchy voice.

“Oh man, Jacobs, you really screwed up this time. I thought you were finally ready for a quest but-”

“Spot, that’s enough!” Crutchie cut in. Davey heard a light slap of skin to skin contact. “Sorry, David. Spot’s just a little worried about-”

“I ain’t worried ‘bout anything, Charlie! I’m fine!” Spot snapped. “I mean, sure my little brother almost died, but, hey, everything’s gotta be about him, right?”

Davey looked up worriedly. He had seen Spot lose his cool when people got on his nerves, and it scared Davey every time. He watched as Spot practically jumped up and winced in pain.

“Spot,” Crutchie said calmly, “please, sit down. You’re leg still ain’t workin’ right. You can’t be on it long.”

Spot stretched out his leg, which was now bandaged up tightly and had a small makeshift splint attached. He grunted in pain. “I’m fine… I’m fine. I just gotta help Kath look over those journals we snatched from their little camp sight.”

Crutchie looked up at him. The way his big brown eyes looked up at Spot and his lips had the pouty little frown as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t because he knew he’d be turned down reminded Davey of Les. It was the same look Les gave him and Sarah when he didn’t want them to leave him months on end. Davey’s breath hitched in his throat.

He made a mental note that if… no, _when_ they saved Les, he’d make sure to go visit him more often. Sarah and he had been spending a lot of time away from home lately.

Davey was brought back to reality by Spot’s painful grunt.

“Do… do you need help, Spot?” Davey offered.

Spot didn’t even look up at him. “I’m fine. Leave me alone, Jacobs,” he murmured through grit teeth.

Davey said nothing else because he didn’t want to anger Spot more than he already had.

Crutchie spoke again. “Okay, just be careful. Please? For me?” His voice shook slightly.

Spot paused. He let out a deep sigh. “Okay. Just… just take care of Jack.”

With that, he disappeared.

Davey hugged himself and turned to Crutchie. “I didn’t know I made him that angry,” Davey murmured. “Jeez…”

Crutchie sighed. He ran a hand through Jack’s dark locks and looked down at the unconscious boy. “Don’t worry. It ain’t just you.” He patted the patch of grass next to him. “Sit.”

Davey looked down at Jack and felt his mouth twitch. The Greek demigod looked almost dead, and Davey… Davey didn’t like that one bit. Crutchie must’ve noticed because he let out something like a soft laugh.

“Don’t worry, Dave. He’s doin’ fine. And Jack ain’t one to hold grudges, so if he wakes up, he ain’t gonna hurt ya.” He patted the spot next to him. Davey felt his body quiver as he sat next to the younger demigod.

Crutchie smiled gently. “That was some show ya put on back there. I thought you said you didn’t use yer powers?”

Davey shrugged. “I don’t. I was just telling Sarah that. I don’t know how that happened!”

“Calm down. I ain’t mad at ya. That’s just in yer nature, ain’t it?”

Davey raised an eyebrow. He pried his eyes from Jack and looked at Crutchie. “What does that mean?”

Crutchie mirrored Davey’s movements. “I just thought…you know, son of Neptune… he’s kinda scary and has a short temper, so I just figured…” He pointed at Davey weakly. “I figured it was hereditary.”

Davey scoffed and rolled his eyes. Davey always heard that at camp. Just because feared and was destructive didn’t mean, Davey was like that. And sure, he and Sarah were considered bad luck, but that didn’t mean anything. “I’m nothing like my dad.”

Then, Crutchie laughed.

Not the reaction he expected. He wasn’t sure what reaction to expect exactly, but that wasn’t it. He thought they were having some kind of heartfelt moment but okay.

Crutchie put a hand on Davey’s shoulder. “Dave, we all got at least one trait from our godly parent whether we like it or not. Or, I should say, whether we _know_ it or not. Look at Spot and Kath. They know they’re like their parents, but they embrace it. If you met Apollo, you’d be able to see how I’m related to him.”

“How?”

Crutchie put on a playful grin and held his hand up to his chin as if posing. “We’re both equally charming.”

Davey chuckled. “If I ever see him, I’ll look for a resemblance.” The levity was short-lived because then his eyes wandered to Jack. He wanted to move a hand to touch him but wasn’t sure it would be a good idea. He tried to keep his smile though. “And what about him? His dad is Mercury- erm, Hermes, right? He’s got that mischievous look to him.”

Crutchie placed a gentle hand on the unconscious boy’s forehead. “That’s a good question. If I know who it is, I’ll let ya know.”

Davey furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t know your own brother’s godly parent?”

“Well, he don’t know either, so…there’s that.”

Davey wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Luckily, Crutchie continued to talk.

“He was never actually claimed by his godly parent, and we don’t know if it’s his ma or pa so that just narrows it down to…” He pretended to count on his fingers. “… all of ‘em. I mean except the obvious, like Artemis and few others.” He nodded slowly. “I got my theories though.”

Davey felt a sinking feeling inside. He just couldn’t catch a break, could he? Not only did he hurt someone he barely knew, but it was someone who didn’t even know his own parents!

“Oh,” was all Davey could say. He bit the inside of his cheek and hugged his knees close. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

Crutchie waved a dismissive hand. “Pssh, it’s fine. Like I said, he ain’t one to hold grudges. He don’t care.”

Davey wrung his hands together. Crutchie seemed pretty nice and easygoing, and he certainly wasn’t upset at Davey the way the others were. He wondered if it would be alright to ask Crutchie about what had Spot so on edge or about what the prophecy was about. It was odd how easily Crutchie was to interact with.

Usually when he barely knew people, there was an awkward silence or trouble when Davey mentioned his godly parent. But with Crutchie, the kid didn’t seem to care. He spoke into fill the silence, he let things go easily, he was just so carefree. He was easy to talk to. So, Davey decided to go for it.

“Hey, can I ask you a few questions?”

Crutchie smiled. “Sure!”

“So, about the prophecy… can you tell me about it? I know there’s supposed to be this huge fight, but do you think you could tell me more about it?”

Crutchie’s expression became a little more serious. He rested a hand on Jack’s head, entangling his fingers in his hair. “Oh, I don’t know it exactly. Katherine was the one who went to the Oracle and heard it firsthand. She’s got it written down somewhere. I could tell ya what I know though.”

Davey slightly smiled. “Yes. Yes, please.”

Crutchie cleared his throat and straightened his back. “So, like the Delanceys said, yous gonna have to fight the son of Hades. And it’s gotta be you ‘cause it’s supposed to be a _son_ of Neptune, not daughter. If you win, then everything’ll be fine. If you lose… that kid’s gonna release Kronos himself to take down the gods. And now with demigods against the gods…if they find the kid…” Crutchie bit his bottom lip. His grip on Jack’s hair tightened. “We’re all gonna be screwed…” He let out a breath and looked up at Davey with what looked to be a forced smile. “No pressure.”

Davey let out his breath he didn’t know he was holding. It took a while for him to gather his thoughts. He swallowed and managed somewhat of a smile. “Okay…”

Crutchie shook his head. “Sorry, it’s just- you asked… I’m sorry about that… I didn’t mean to get you scared.”

“It’s fine,” Davey responded. “At least now I know why Spot didn’t tell me now. He’s not one to sugarcoat things, and if he had told me, I would’ve freaked out right then and there.”

Crutchie’s tight smile loosened a bit. “Heh…yeah.”

Davey sat cross-legged. “Hey, Crutchie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. You know, for telling me and for not hating me like everyone else.”

Crutchie pat his back. “No one hates you, Dave. Everyone’s just a little shook, ya know? Besides, what are friends for?” He smiled.

Davey felt a smile tug at his lips. “Yeah, friends…”

Davey was tempted to ask what was up with Spot, but then, Jack started twitching. The dark-haired boy let out a groan.

Crutchie beamed. “Mornin’ sleeping beauty.”

Jack opened his eyes slowly. He propped himself up on an elbow. “Huh?” His voice was scratchy. “What happened?”

“Jack!” Davey couldn’t help but be filled with some form of relief. “Jack, you’re okay!”

Crutchie smirked. “Thanks to me.”

Jack’s dark eyes landed on him. Davey noticed a spark of fear in his eyes, but it was soon replaced by a more indecipherable emotion. Jack moved his gaze to Crutchie.

“Crutchie…where the hell are we?”

“Away from the Delanceys, that’s for sure. We’re safe.”

He glanced over at Davey again. “Where’s Spot and Kath and… the other one? I forgot her name.”

“Sarah,” Davey said.

He ignored Davey and kept his attention on Crutchie. Crutchie thought for a moment. “I think they were lookin’ over some stuff we stole from the Delanceys and Skittery.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jack sat up and kept his gaze down. “He really turned on us. Does that mean… Does Spot know…”

“He put two and two together, but he don’t wanna believe it.”

“Hm.” Jack brought his knees up to his chest. “Oscar and Morris was probably exaggerating. I don’t think all our friends that went missin’…they ain’t bad people. Skits ain’t like that.”

“I hope your right,” Crutchie’s voice was somber. “I really hope your right.” Crutchie grabbed his crutch and stood up. “I’m gonna go see what up with the others. Dave, watch Jack for a while.”

“I’m fine,” Jack protested.

“You really ain’t,” Crutchie said. “Just give it like five, maybe ten minutes. Okay?”

Jack grunted and nodded in agreement.

“Good.” Crutchie gave Davey a nod and a look that said, ‘Here’s your chance. Don’t blow it.’ “See ya!” He gave a sweet smile and turned to leave.

The two boys sat there in almost complete silence. The only sound that could be heard was a light breeze blowing through the leaves. Davey watched Jack carefully.

Jack’s head was down the whole time. His bangs covered his eyes, but Davey could feel Jack’s gaze burning his skin. He was running his hand through his hair to get all the tangles out. It was pretty obvious Jack was upset with him, so Davey decided to at least try to break the ice.

“Jack,” he said, “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen! I just don’t know how to use my powers! I-”

“Listen, David,” Jack interjected.

“It’s Da- Wait, you got it right this time.”

“Yeah. I don’t need yer excuses. If ya didn’t wanna be friends or whatever, ya could’ve just said so.” He looked up and locked eyes with Davey. “I know I can get rough, but I thought you was a cool guy. I thought we could be friends.”

For some reason, that comment made Davey’s heart beat faster.

“I was wrong though. I was tryin’, David.” He stood up. “But I’m done.” He blinked a few times.

“And I stood up too fast. Wow, I am dizzy.” He shook his head and blinked a few more times.

Davey stood up too. “Jack, I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean it! That’s never happened before, and I feel really bad.” He took a step toward the shorter boy. “Maybe we can start over?”

Jack shook his head and started walking away but stumbled. He fell back, but Davey managed to catch him. He pulled him back up.

Davey sighed. “I’m sorry,” his voice was lowered to almost a whisper. “Jack, I… I just… I guess I’ve never really had someone who actually _wanted_ to be my friend. I’m an outcast at Camp Jupiter. Sarah’s the only friend I have.” He sighed. “I really do want to be your friend. I’m sorry.”

Jack didn’t turn around to face him. He didn’t walk away though. He just stood there. Finally, he spoke. “We ain’t that different, David. And I don’t like stayin’ mad at too many people for too long, so I’m gonna give you a second chance. But you gotta prove I can trust you.” He turned around. His expression was more serious than Davey had ever seen it. He held out his hand. “Got it?”

Davey reached out his hand but retracted it quickly. “Well, hang on a second. I have to know I can trust you too. This can’t just be a one-way thing.”

Davey noticed a smile pulling at the end of Jack’s lips. “You drive a hard bargain, Davey. But I like it. You got yourself a deal.”

Davey reached out and took Jack’s hand. He had a firm grip. The kind of grip of someone confident. Someone who knew what he wanted. When he let go, Davey could still feel the cold sensation of his hand on his.

“Come on,” Jack said. “Let’s go see what the fellas are up to.”

Davey made sure to stick close by Jack, just in case, he tripped again. They walked side by side to where the others were. When they got there, Sarah, Katherine, and Spot were arguing about something. Davey looked over at Crutchie who was trying calm everyone down.

He and Jack exchanged a look. Jack cleared his throat. “Hey! What are y’all waitin’ ‘round here for?”

Spot immediately looked over in their direction. He looked relieved Jack was okay. He crossed his arms. “Well, Little Miss Smarty over here got us goin’ in the wrong direction.”

Katherine frowned. “How was I supposed to know the exact location of the demigod?! I was going off what I knew about Hades’ powers!”

“And look what good that did us,” Sarah muttered.

“Well, I don’t see you trying to do research!” Katherine snapped back at Sarah. The two girls glared at each other.

“Wait, where are we supposed to be going then?” Davey asked.

Crutchie’s expression lit up at the question. He practically sprinted over to Jack. “Jack! You’ll never believe where we’re headin’ next!”

Jack laughed and put his arm around Jack’s shoulder. “Is it back to New York? ‘Cause we was literally just there two days ago, and if we gotta go back-”

“No!” Crutchie exclaimed, growing excited by the second. “It’s somewhere we’ve always wanted to go!”

Davey couldn’t help but smile. Again, he reminded him of Les when he had good news to tell Davey about school or anything else he thought was a big accomplishment.

Jack chuckled. “So, where are we headed?”

Spot tossed Jack a small black journal that looked like it had been wrung through the mud a hundred times over. Jack caught and flipped through the pages.

“We need to find a train station with a train headed southwest ‘cause we’re headed to Santa Fe,” Spot said.

Jack suddenly shut the notebook. “No way.”

Davey looked from Crutchie to Spot to Jack. He wasn’t so sure what was so great about some city in New Mexico, but Jack and Crutchie sure seemed excited about it.

Spot nodded. “Yup.” He plucked the notebook from Jack’s hands and turned to a specific page. “Right here, it says they were somehow able to track that kid, and he’s somewhere in Santa Fe. We’ve been headin’ away from him.”

“We just have to hope that they didn’t find him by now,” Sarah added. “We have to make sure we get to him first.”

Jack grinned. “Then, what are we standin’ around here for? Let’s go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts in the comments because I feel like chapters get too dialogue-heavy at times or just get boring, so tell me what ya'll think I can improve on!  
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Peace out!


	9. He's so Weird... But a Good Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Jack and Davey bonding! 
> 
> (This was supposed to be a short chapter, but I combined two chapters into one. Oops...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I uploaded a chapter like last week, but I was excited about writing this one!

“You sure you’ll be fine with him?”

“Yeah, of course,” Davey answered. “It’s only one night in a small, cramped sleeping car with Jack, but it’s totally fine.”

When they bought the train tickets, Davey figured he’d have to bunk with someone for the night, but he hoped it would’ve been his sister or, at the very least, someone who seemed to have more than one brain cell.

Then, he and Jack ended up sharing a room.

Through some arguing and back and forth commentary with Spot, Davey ended up rooming with Jack for the night and Sarah ended up with Katherine. Sarah had no problem with Katherine, she had been trying to befriend her this whole trip. But Davey had a small problem with Jack.

He was worried that there would be an awkward silence and Jack would see just how uninteresting he was. He was worried that they would get into another argument and his powers would go haywire again. He was mostly worried that he’d have another dream and his powers would go haywire in his sleep. Davey had a full list, but those were just scenarios off the top of his head.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“I’m fine, sis. Trust me.”

Sarah didn’t look too convinced. “Alright, I trust you. Don’t go blowing up the toilet again.” She playfully punched his arm. “Goodnight, Dave.”

“Goodnight, Sarah.”

They hugged and parted their separate ways. Davey stood outside the door for a moment. He took in a breath then opened the door.

He opened the door to find Jack changing into his pajamas. Jack looked caught off guard and brought his shirt up to his chest. “Ever heard of knockin’?”

Davey closed the door and set his backpack down right behind him. “Ever heard of a restroom? You could’ve changed over there like I did.”

Jack turned around and slid on a white muscle shirt. “I didn’t know you was comin’ so soon. You know I could’ve been in here without any pants on. Then, what would you have done, huh?” Jack turned back around with a small smirk present on his features. “Is that what you want, Dave? Ya wanna see my friend down there?”

Davey felt his face burn. “No! Jack, that’s disgusting!”

Jack laughed. “I know. But it’s cute to see you get all riled up.” He winked.

Davey looked away and rolled his eyes. He noticed how cramped the cart was. The walls were narrow to the point his and Jack’s bed were practically right next to each other. He was only a few inches from Jack now as it was.

Davey put his backpack on the bed that wasn’t already made a mess by Jack. He climbed on the stiff bed and prepared for bed.

“Yer goin’ to bed already? Does Mr. Uptight got a curfew?” Jack asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Davey retorted. “We have a long day tomorrow. We need to get as much rest as we can, and Spot’s going to be pissed if he finds out I stayed up too late.”

Jack hopped onto Davey’s bed. He crossed his legs and faced Davey. “Well, he don’t gotta know.” Davey saw the mischievous look on the shorter boy’s face.

Davey sat up. He brought his knees to his chest. “What do you mean? Better question: what are you planning on doing?”

Jack lowered his voice to a whisper as if someone might hear him. “Let’s sneak out.”

Davey shook his head and blinked. He crossed his arms. “And where do you propose we go? You want us to jump off a moving train?”

Jack flicked his forehead. “No, Seaweed Brain. Let’s just take a quick trip to the dining cart, get some snacks, and come back. Simple.”

“Why would you want to do that? We just ate dinner.”

“Uh, yeah, like two hours ago. And I’m hungry, so we’re gonna go steal some snacks.”

“We? No. No way! Spot will kill me!”

“Aw, come on,” Jack persisted. “It’ll be fun.” Then, Jack had this look on his face. He smirked. “You don’t do fun, do ya?”

Davey rolled his eyes again. He knew what Jack was doing. And was he going to fall for it?

“Ugh, fine. I’ll show you I know what fun is.”

Apparently, he was.

Jack smiled. “Great!” He grabbed his sweater and pulled it on. “Come on.” He opened the door slightly and scanned the hall.

Davey put his shoes on and stood up. He hoped he wouldn’t regret this. He watched as Jack stepped out into the hallway. He motioned for Davey to follow, and Davey obeyed. He closed the door behind him and looked into the darkness.

All the lights were shut off. He could hardly see anything. He couldn’t even see Jack in front of him. “Jack?” He whispered. He put his hand out in front of him and felt only air. “Jack?” A strong grip pulled him to his right.

“I’m here, Dave. Just follow me,” Jack whispered back.

He felt Jack grab his forearm and pull him along. He followed where Jack was pulling him, listening as Jack’s bare feet beat against the floor. They stopped and Jack opened a door.

“This way.”

Davey stepped into the other car and blinked to adjust his eyes to the dim light. This car had windows and dim lights coming from under the doors. He looked right in front of him to see Jack’s smiling face.

“Jack,” Davey said, “do you know where we’re going?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, didn’t you see the map when we got on? We’re two cars away from the kitchen.”

They traveled a few more cars until they got to the dining car. Jack pulled on the handle. “Locked,” he muttered.

Davey shrugged. “Oh darn, I guess we’ll have to go back,” Davey said in a flat tone.

“Now, don’t be too disappointed,” Jack retorted in the same tone. “Turn around. I’m gonna pick the lock.”

Davey wanted to ask why he needed to turn around but thought better than to question Jack Kelly's logic. He turned around and heard Jack struggle with the lock for a few seconds then there as a click. “Okay, let’s go.”

Davey spun around and followed Jack in. They did the same thing with the lock to the kitchen. Jack held the door open. “Ladies first.” He gestured inward.

Davey rolled his eyes and scoffed. He walked in. “Thanks.”

Jack shut the door behind them. “Now, that’s more like it. We’re getting along already!”

“Just get what you’re going to get, so we can get out of here.” He looked around.

The car was much bigger than their small room. The surfaces were mostly metallic looking with a few spots here and there to show that this must’ve been a pretty old car. There were cabinets across the top of the sink and almost completely covering the bottom half. He leaned against the wall and watched as the other boy looked through the cabinets.

Davey sank to the floor and let himself get lost in his thoughts. He had been trying to do this a lot lately. There was just so much to think about.

They were going to find the son of Hades, and then what? Was the prophecy just going to stop? Was that it? How did any of this even work?!

Then, there was the possibility that Davey wasn’t going to make it out of this. The probability of him failing this whole quest scared Davey. And he didn’t want to tell Sarah because Sarah was sure they would succeed. She was way too optimistic about this life or death situation, and Davey didn’t want to be the one to crush her spirits. He’d let Spot do that. He didn’t want to talk to Katherine about it because… well, she scared him. And Spot, well, same as Katherine. He could probably tell Crutchie, but he didn’t want to dump everything on the kid. He really had no one to talk to.

Who was he supposed to talk to? His dad? He never listened as it is. He didn’t even care about Davey or Sarah.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

Davey was pulled from his thoughts and looked up at the boys standing over him. “Oh, nothing.” No, not him. Not Jack.

Jack set a small box down and sat in front of him. He chuckled. “You sure? ‘Cause you looked real serious right now. Like… like this.” He mimicked a face that looked deep in thought. It was a bit overdramatic though.

Davey chuckled. “No, no, I’m fine.”

Jack reached into the box and pulled out a small package. He fiddled with it. “Yous sure, Dave? We are friends. You can tell me anything, you know. I ain’t as stupid as I seem.” He got the package open and muttered a small ‘nice’. He held it toward Davey. “Want a Pop-Tart?”

Davey looked from the snack to Jack. “It’s almost eleven o’clock at night.”

Jack shrugged and took a bite. “I don’t see your point.”

Davey rolled his eyes.

“You keep rollin’ those eyes like that, and they’re gonna roll right out yer head,” Jack joked with his usual smile. His expression softened a bit. “Come on, man. I know somethings wrong. Tell me.”

Davey sighed. “Ugh, fine. I’m just… scared or nervous or both! There are just so many things that are going on at once. It’s too much to handle.” Davey balled his hand into a fist and felt his shoulders tense up.

Jack took another bite of his Pop-Tart. “Don’t worry about it. That kinda stuff just happens, right?”

Jack seemed so calm about this whole that it bothered him. How was he so calm? No one was taking this seriously!

“Jack,” Davey said, “you don’t get it. We could all die by the end of this.”

Jack seemed to think this over. He pursed his lips. He hummed lightly. “Okay, but consider this: we don’t.”

Davey laughed. He laughed until he became hysterical with laughter. “You don’t get it, do you? Jack, we’re all going to die. If not you, then I will! My life is the one on the line here!”

Jack held a finger to his lips. “David, calm down. We’re gonna get caught,” he whisper-yelled.

Davey’s laughter died down. He took in a deep breath and felt tears threaten to fall. “No, I don’t need to calm down,” he continued, his voice still quivering with hints of laughter. “I think you need to be less calm. But then again, you’re not the one who’s going to decide the fate of the world here! I have a lot to deal with here! I’m on some quest that has to do with some prophecy I’ve never seen, my little brother is captured and probably getting tortured by some evil demigods, my dad doesn’t even care enough to send some kind of sign that maybe he’s watching over me, and, to top it all off, I have no one!”

He couldn’t hold back anymore. He felt hot tears run down his face. “Sure, I have Sarah, but she’s been waiting to go on a quest her whole life! I can’t ruin that for her! And my dad… he’s…he’s useless! He doesn’t care about me or my sister! Is it so much to ask for just… for someone can talk to?” He brought his knees up to his chest and his face. He didn’t care if Jack saw him cry. He didn’t care about anything anymore. They hadn’t even gotten to the worst part, and he was already regretting coming along.

His stomach hurt like hell. It felt like something was had just stabbed him from the inside.

There was a long silence. The only sound was Davey’s muffled sobs into his knees. He hugged them closer and buried his face as deeply as he could as if that would make everything just go away.

“Davey,” Jack said softly. His voice was gentle. “I-”

He was cut off by the sound of rushing water. Davey’s head snapped up. There was a sudden eruption of water from the sink.

Davey let go of his knees and held his stomach. _Please, not again. Not now._

The water spurted everywhere. It was going in all directions, spraying both Jack and Davey. Jack shielded his face and stood up. “Dave, not to kick ya while yer down or anything, but could ya turn off the water?” He said over the sound of the rushing liquid.

“I’ve told you before, I can’t control it,” Davey replied. He wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up as well.

The sink on the other end of the kitchen erupted too. The faucet flew off and dented the wall.

“Crap,” Jack muttered. He took a few steps back. “Have you ever tried to control ‘em?”

“Well, no, but-” He heard footsteps rushing closer.

The shorter boy grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “Now would be a good time to try!” He stopped shaking Davey and took in a breath. “Just relax and focus.”

Davey took in a deep breath and let it out. _Stop. Just stop._ He closed his eyes and tried to will the water to stop flowing. _Stop._ The pain inside him began to fade.

The sound of rushing water lessened. He opened his eyes. “I think it’s working… slowly, but it’s working”

Jack ran over to the door and locked it. “That’s real nice, but slowly ain’t gonna cut it right now. We gotta get outta here!”

He noticed Jack staring at something and followed his gaze. “No, we are not jumping out the window.”

Jack was already moving toward the window and prying it open. “It’ll be fun. Just like the movies! ‘Sides, I ain’t gettin’ in trouble today.”

Davey groaned. “Ugh, fine.”

He heard the door handle shaking. Then, there was a knock and incoherent yelling.

Davey felt his knees shake. He looked up at Jack, who just took the faucet and decided to smash open the window. Davey face-palmed. “What are you doing?!”

Jack kicked open the window. “Getting’ us outta here.” He stuck his head out the window. “Grab my legs.”

Davey held Jack’s legs as he climbed out of the window. He made his way to the roof of the train. Davey let go of his legs as he heard the thump of Jack’s body on top of the train car. Davey heard someone try to open the door again and followed Jack out the window quickly.

Jack reached out his hand, and Davey took it. He pulled Davey up with him. He held on tightly to Jack.

He felt the air blowing roughly against his skin. His hair was blown out of his face by the rushing wind. He looked over at the other boy, who was scanning the area. His eyes darted everywhere until he finally decided to try to stand.

He brought Davey up with him, still holding him close. “This way.”

He released Davey and took his hand. They steadied themselves and ran. It didn’t matter if their footsteps were heard, Davey just wanted to get to his bed and sleep. He didn’t need this right now.

They jumped to each train car until they got to theirs. Jack reached down and tried to pick the lock on the window. He banged on it then joined Davey on top of the train car.

“Any luck?”

Jack was silent. Davey could practically hear the gears in his brain turning. The expression on his face seemed way too serious to be from the same person who wanted to sneak out in the middle of the night just for Pop-Tarts. “Let me try again. Hold my legs.”

Davey grabbed the boy’s legs. It didn’t take long before he came back up. “We’re gonna have to jump.”

“What?!”

An adult voice yelled words that sounded along the lines of “Who’s up there?” Then, a beam of light from a flashlight shown from one of the train’s windows.

Oh, gods, Davey didn’t want to get caught, especially, for something as stupid as this. He looked into Jack’s eyes and felt the boy grip his shoulders.

“Dave,” Jack said seriously, “I’m gonna need you to trust me on this. We’re gonna jump together, alright?”

Davey nodded, unable to form words.

Jack brought him into a tight hug. He squeezed him. “Trust me, Davey.”

Davey nodded again. He was able to choke three words before they jumped.

“I trust you.”

He wrapped his arms around Jack’s body, and they jumped.

-

Davey felt numb.

He felt him and Jack plummeting toward the Earth as fast, cold air slapped against his face. The only thing he heard was the roaring air in his ears. The only thing he felt was Jack’s body against his. Then, they stopped falling. They must’ve been dead, right?

No, they weren’t.

He felt his foot hit something, then they landed. They landed on something stiff. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His ears rang. His eyes opened.

They were laying on Jack’s bed. They were safe. His eyes darted to the open window that he shut immediately. He felt his breaths come shallow and quick; his heart pounded against his rib cage.

“You did it,” Davey whispered out of breath. “You actually did it.”

He felt Jack’s grip on his waist loosen. “I told ya.”

They laid like that for a while with only the sound of their breathing.

Jack finally broke the silence. “Davey…what you said back there… I am tryin’ to take this seriously. I just got my own way of dealin’ with things.” His voice was breathy and low. Davey didn’t think he’d be able to hear it if the voice wasn’t right next to his ear.

“I…I don’t want yous thinkin’ yer alone I this. You’re my friend. And with that, I’m gonna make sure you ain’t alone. I didn’t know…” He took in a shaky breath. “I didn’t know you felt that way. You ain’t gonna be alone while I’m around.” He sat up and leaned against the wall.

Davey got up and went over to his bed. He sat down and looked over at Jack. The boy’s chest rose and fell with each breath he took. He wanted to say something, but Jack spoke again.

“And y’know, that whole thing with yer dad? I get it. I get what it’s like to feel like you don’t matter because to gods, we don’t matter. We’re just a buncha playthings for ‘em and do their dirty work. At least yer dad cares enough to claim ya as his own…” He trailed off.

Davey reached over and took Jack’s hand in his. He squeezed it gently. Jack looked down and squeezed back gently.

“And I know, you’re feelin’ overwhelmed. I know you’re in the dark, but trust me. I know we’re gonna get through this. No one’s gonna die. I promise.”

Davey smiled. He knew this was a promise he couldn’t control, but it was a sweet gesture. “Thanks, Jackie.”

Jack looked him in the eyes and smiled. “Jackie?”

“Yeah, you call me Davey, so I figured I’d give you a nickname too. You like it?”

Jack chuckled. “Yeah…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package.

Davey laughed. “You still have that?”

Jack took his hand back and opened it. “These are the good ones. Here, you want one?”

Davey couldn’t help but smile at the fact at Jack’s childish nature. “Sure, I guess.” He tore off half of one.

Davey nibbled on the edges as he tried to relax after the events that just took place. His heart was still pounding against his chest. He glanced at Jack and noticed he looked to be in the same condition.

“I sure hope Spot doesn’t find out it was me that blew up the kitchen,” Davey said.

“Ay, don’t worry about it. I’ll cover for ya,” Jack said as he rolled up the empty package and shoved it in his pocket. His expression became unreadable. “Besides, he’s probably got other things on his mind right now.”

Davey tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

Jack shook his head and turned to Davey. “I’m talkin’ about his boyfriend. Spot’s got this boyfriend, we call ‘im Race, and he…” He wrung his hands together. “Remember what Oscar said? ‘Bout how all the demigods that went missin’ were actually to helpin’ take down the gods?”

Davey nodded.

Jack continued. “Well, it wasn’t that long ago that Race went missin’, and you can only imagine how it’d feel to hear someone ya love turns on ya. Especially, if yer in Spot’s position.”

Davey swallowed the last of his snack. “Wow. No wonder he’s been so…”

“Cranky? On edge?”

“Yeah…” Davey laid down. “I guess we should get some rest. We have a long trip ahead of us.”

Jack just nodded. He reached over and turned off the light. “Night, Davey.”

“Goodnight, Jackie.”

-

A tall figure walked toward him.

Davey scanned the scene in front of him. This was new. He couldn’t quite make out the figure because it was covered in shadows, but he could tell whoever it was must’ve been tall and maybe kind of lanky.

The setting was pretty dark with little to no color around him. It was like the whole world was one of those old-timey black and white movies. The walls were a dark gray stone and the floor was an old wood that creaked under the feet of the figure as it descended a set of rickety stairs.

Finally, the figure stopped at the bottom of the stairs and spoke. It wasn’t much taller than Davey and with the voice it had, it wasn’t too threatening.

“Ay, kid. Kid? You okay?” The voice was high-pitched and sort of scratchy. It had a similar New York accent to the ones Jack and Crutchie had.

Davey didn’t even try to say anything to him. At this point, he knew it was useless to try.

There was a small cough that came from behind Davey. A familiar voice spoke. “Race…Race is that you?”

Davey felt his heart almost stop he spun around quickly. “Les?”

It was indeed his brother. He was sitting against a wall and got to his knees to try to stand up. He winced and sat back down. Davey noticed a huge bruise on his forehead. One of his legs was tied to a pillar. He looked scared. Really scared.

Davey wanted to reach out and hug his little brother. But he knew this was only a vision. He couldn’t even talk to him. Then, Davey turned to the figure.

The boy stepped out of the shadows. He looked almost exactly as he looked in Spot’s photo. Curly, dirty blonde hair that looked almost brown and fair skin with bright blue eyes that seemed to light up the room. He looked worried. “Yeah, it’s me,” he said gently. He made his way to Les. “At least that bruise of yours is lookin’ better. How’s it feelin’?”

He knelt down and gently looked him over. Les winced when he touched his forehead.

“It’s feeling better,” Les answered hoarsely. “Racer?”

“Hm?”

“When do I get to go home? I want to go home.” Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I want to see Sarah and Davey and Ma and Pa… I don’t want to be here.”

Davey walked over and knelt next to Les. “It’s okay,” Davey whispered, even though he knew Les couldn’t hear him. “You’ll be back home soon. We’re coming for you.”

He saw Race lean over and hug his little brother. “Soon, kid. Everything’ll be over soon. Yer brother’s comin’. But for now, I’m here to take care of yous like I have been these past few days, yeah?” He wiped Les’s tears away with his sleeve.

“Y-yeah… okay.”

Davey was surprised, to say the least. When Jack said Race had turned on them, he expected someone as brutal and heartless as the Delancey brothers. Race didn’t seem like that though. Sure, this was a way to capture him, but he was taking care of Les. At least Les was safe for now.

“Racer! Where are ya?” A voice called.

Race pulled away and sighed. “I gotta go before I get caught. I’ll be back soon, kid. Okay?”

“O-okay…”

Race stood up, sent one last glance towards Les, and ran up the stairs.

Davey watched after Race and let out a sigh. He turned back to Les but gasped when he saw it wasn’t Les anymore. The scene had changed as well.

It was inside a small bedroom. At least, that’s what Davey assumed it was. The place looked completely torn to shreds. There was the framework of a bed with pieces of a mattress scattered all over it. The walls were a dark moldy green color with paint chipping from the walls. There as a broken window right next to the bed frame that looked out into what looked like a desert landscape with a few buildings in the distance. The only piece of furniture that was mostly intact was an old dresser with a shattered mirror.

Next to the dresser, looking right at Davey, was the son of Hades himself. He was staring straight at Davey as though he could see him right in the room. His black eyes pierced through Davey’s soul.

Davey felt sweat begin to drip from his forehead. He wiped it with his forearm. “Uh…hi,” Davey said.

The little boy just stared. Against the dark lighting of the room, his skin looked frighteningly pale. It was almost like looking at a ghost. Davey never thought a kid could scare him so much.

“What are you staring at?” The kid asked, his tone of voice much less scared than when he last encountered the kid.

Davey stared down at the kid. He wasn’t sure who he was talking to. He remained silent.

“It’s rude to stare, you know.” The young child giggled. He walked passed Davey and opened up the top drawer from the dresser. He rummaged through it.

Davey bit the inside of his cheek. He looked around for anyone else the kid may have been talking to.

“It’s also rude to ignore people,” the kid said.

“I…” What was up with this kid? The other two times Davey had seen him, he was running for his life and crying. Now, he was talking like he had known Davey his whole life. “I’m sorry. I just…I’m confused. Are you talking to me?”

“There’s no one else in this room, is there?”

Davey was taken aback. “You can hear me?”

“Well, I’m not deaf, David. I-”

“How do you know my name?”

The kid pulled out a piece of crumpled old paper and gave Davey a confused look. “Because you told me. Anyway, you’re coming to Santa Fe, right?”

“I…yes. Look, I have a few questions.”

“Shoot.”

“What’s your name?”

The kid raised an eyebrow. “You want to know my name?”

“Yes! That’ll make it way easier to find you.”

“Dave, come on. My name’s-”

“What are you twos doin’ in here?”

Davey turned and saw Spot standing in the doorway. “Spot!” Davey wrung his hands. “Spot, what’s going on?”

“We’re getting’ outta here. That’s what’s goin' on. You!” He pointed at the sone of Hades. “What are you doin’? Get over here!”

“What?” The kid asked. “Wait, we can’t leave yet.”

Spot went straight over to the kid, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him out of the room. “Wait,” Davey called, “you can’t take him! I was just about to learn his name! Spot!”

Davey ran into the hallway after them, only for the scene to change again. There was nothing. No hallway, no walls, no ceiling.

Davey looked back only to see the door was gone. “Spot!” Davey called out. “Kid! Where are you?” Davey wandered around the area aimlessly calling for demigods.

“Stop screaming, would you?” A familiar voice said.

Davey felt a chill go down his spine. He couldn’t quite make out the voice but it sounded so familiar. He spun around. He felt his breath leave his body. “J-Jack…?”

Except, it wasn’t Jack. Well, it was, but it wasn’t. This man had the most gorgeous raven-colored hair Davey had ever seen. It was slicked down to the side in a formal way. He had an attractive tan color to his skin with beautiful dark eyes that you could get lost in for days. His clothes were just as nice. It was a nice navy-blue blazer buttoned up over a plain white button-up shirt that as tucked into formal black pants.

The other laughed. “Not quite.” His voice even sounded more proper. “Although I must say, you do have good taste in men.”

Davey’s voice caught in his throat. He just gawked at the man standing before him.

He smiled. “I do have that effect on people, David Jacobs.”

Yeah, that wasn’t Jack.

The Jack look-alike stepped closer. “I must say, I don’t see the effect he has on you dressed like…” He wrinkled his nose. “…well, the way he does. Oh, and apologies, I didn’t think I’d be able to nail that heavy New York accent.”

“Who… who are you?” Davey managed to say.

The other smiled. “Oh yes! I forgot! Allow me to introduce myself, young demigod. I am the Greek goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite.”

Davey finally managed to speak. “Aphrodite? But… you don’t look like a goddess. You look like my friend.”

The goddess laughed. “I know. I know. But, as the goddess of _beauty_ , I figured I’d appear to you like someone you find attractive, hon.”

Davey felt his face burn. “Jack?! No, no, no ma’am you got it all wrong! I do _not_ like Jack!”

She smirked, and with Jack’s face, it was the same mischievous smirk he usually had. “I never said you did, Son of Neptune.”

Davey crossed his arms, heat spreading to his cheeks. He changed the subject. “Anyway, Ms. Aphrodite, if I may ask, why are you visiting me in a dream?”

She might’ve looked like Jack, but Davey still had to keep in mind she was a god. He still had to be respectful.

“Well, I must say, darling, I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t involve my department. As far as I can see, this is an interesting case.” She examined her nails.

“Case… ma’am?” Gods, it was hard to call her by female pronouns when she looked so much like Jack.

She adjusted the blazer. “Your love life, of course! When there’s a romance blooming, I can’t just simply watch from afar. Especially one like yours.”

Davey shook his head. No. He didn’t like Jack. This was dumb. The goddess of love had no reason to be here. He just thought of Jack as a good friend. A handsome friend. A nice and handsome friend. Also, kind of weird… but a good weird though.

Aphrodite fixed her hair and straightened the collar on her shirt. Her expression became a bit more somber. “As entertaining as this is going to be for me, it won’t be as easy for you,” she continued. “Listen to me, David Jacobs, and listen carefully: love is a powerful thing. No matter how bad things are going to get, you can’t just abandon him. There will be a time when you’ll need each other most, and that’s when you’ll have to make one of the most difficult decisions in your life.”

Davey didn’t like the sound of that. “What does that mean?”

She walked closer and cupped Davey’s face in her hands. “I can’t tell you. That would ruin everything!” She smiled gently. “I should get going. You’re going to wake up soon.” She took a step back

She smiled at him and winked. “See ya, Davey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I like the way this one came out (mostly the second half)! I'm sorry that it was so long! I had two chapters done and decided to combine into one really long one because I made this whole outline and finally figured out how many chapters there's gonna be. So, yeah... Around 28 for now, but if need be, I'll add more chapters.
> 
> Anyway, as always, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! And I'll see you later guys, gals, and non-binary pals!


	10. If It's True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More shipping moments and some cute sibling moments from Davey and Sarah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist making the Percy Jackson reference at the beginning... Sorry.

“You drool when you sleep.”

Davey opened his eyes and was taken aback when he saw Jack’s face only inches from his. The only thing he saw was Jack’s dark eyes glistening in the morning light. Actually, they looked more of a deep blue… or greenish? Maybe brown? Davey felt his cheeks burn when he realized how close Jack was.

“Huh?”

“I said yer droolin’. You gots saliva all over yer chin,” Jack said. He stood up with his usual smile. He was already dressed in jeans and the same paint-stained t-shirt from the previous day along with his signature faded hoodie. His hair was the usual black mess that looked liked he never combed it (which Davey doubted he actually did).

Davey covered his mouth with his shirt to wipe his chin and hide his small smile. He was kind of glad that the first face he saw when he woke up Jack’s. After his dream last night, it was nice to see the real Jack. Sure, Aphrodite’s Jack had been _very_ … easy on the eyes, to say the least. But she could never manage to top the messy, grammatically incorrect real deal.

He glanced out the window. “What time is it?”

“Almost ten. Better get up, Sleepin’ Beauty.” He whacked Davey with his pillow.

Davey sat up and chuckled. “Alright, alright. I must’ve been tired if I’m waking up this late,” he mumbled.

Jack whacked him again. “Mm-hm. It feel good breakin’ one a yer rules? How’s it feel livin’ like a rebel?”

“Shut up,” Davey said with a smile. “That was a one-time thing, and I only did it because you begged me to go with you.”

Jack put his hand to his chest. “Gee, Dave, I’m touched. Ya broke the rules just for me,” he said in a melodramatic tone.

Davey playfully rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Jack sat down on his bed and put his feet up. Davey felt himself slightly cringe at the sight of him wearing shoes on the bed. It was always a pet peeve of his. He noticed Jack’s expression become a bit more serious. He fiddled with the string on his hoodie.

“Anyway,” he said, “you happen to have any weird dreams or anything last night?”

Davey put his backpack on his bed. “Yeah. How did you know?”

Jack shrugged. “Eh, I had one. Tell me ‘bout yours though.”

Davey pulled out his shirt and jeans and laid them in front of him. “Well, my little brother was in it and your friend, Race. He was there. Then, there was this weird kid that, now I’m pretty sure, is the sone of Hades. And…” He bit his bottom lip thinking about the last segment. He wasn’t going to tell Jack about that. No way.

He explained his dreams, skipping over the Aphrodite part, in as much detail as he could remember. When he finished, he could see Jack listening intently out of the corner of his eye. Jack just nodded.

“That’s it? Nothin’ else?”

Davey shook his head. “Nope. That’s it,” he said a little too quickly. Jack didn’t look convinced. “What about you? What was yours about?”

Jack pulled on his hoodie string looking but had what looked like a mix between relief and disappointment on his face. “Oh, nothin’ important. Just… somethin’ bad’s gonna happen in Santa Fe. I can feel it.” He sighed “Which is kinda disappointin’ actually ‘cause I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“Why?” Davey asked genuinely curious.

Jack shrugged. “I really don’t know. I’ve always liked the idea of livin’ out west, I guess. I’s liked it since I was little. I know it sounds weird, but I like it.”

Davey noticed the way his eyes seemed to gleam when he talked about it and the way his smile became softer. Davey stood up. “I don’t think it sounds weird,” he replied. He looked down to avoid Jack’s gaze.

There was a beat of silence before Jack replied. “Heh…thanks, Davey.”

“No problem, Jackie.” He looked up to see Jack mirroring his action by looking away from him. He wondered if the love goddess had visited Jack as well. Or maybe that was a weird sort of wishful thinking. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, do you mind stepping into the hallway, so I can change? I don’t know if I really feel…uh, comfortable with you watching me.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Jack got up and stepped out.

Davey changed into his normal clothing and slung his backpack over his shoulders. When he stepped out into the hallway, he saw Jack talking to Katherine, who was laughing at something he just said. A small burning feeling rose in Davey’s chest. He shook his head and headed to the restroom.

He shut the door. He needed to be alone right now. He just needed to clear his head. Something about his dreams talking to him and starting to develop a close bond with someone he barely knew as just a lot to take in all at once.

He stood by what he said last night. He did _not_ like Jack that way. He barely knew him. It would be stupid to develop a crush on someone he hardly knew.

Davey walked over to the sink and turned it on the splash some water in his face. His hands were halfway the water stream when he stopped.

Last night… last night he had been able to control it. It wasn’t by much, but he did it. He managed to control his powers by staying calm. Just as Jack said to do.

Davey took in a deep breath and focused on the running water. He left his hands just inches from it. “Come on,” he muttered. He put all his attention on the small stream. “Come on…just focus.”

He closed his eyes and focused. He took in a deep breath and let it out. He didn’t know what he was trying to do, but it was something.

“Come on,” he breathed. “Give me something… Do something…”

He opened one of his eyes to see the stream wriggling just slightly. He smiled and opened his other eye. “Yes…”

Then, it squirted out toward his face. He shut off the sink. He didn’t care if his hair was soaking wet. He did _something_. And that was more than he’d been able to do in all his years at Camp Jupiter. He had to tell Sarah.

He walked back where he had left Jack and Katherine only to find Sarah and Spot going at it about gods knows what. When he got close enough to hear their conversation, his face went pale.

“Of course, it wasn’t any of us!” Sarah exclaimed. “Ask Kath! I was here all night!”

Spot had a look of annoyance on his face. “I know it wasn’t you! I just wanted to ask in case.” Then, he saw Davey. “Hey, Jacobs! Get over here!”

Davey rushed over. “Yes, sir?” He could practically feel his voice shaking.

“You blow up the sinks in the kitchen?”

Davey put on a confused expression. “What do you mean?”

Spot narrowed his eyes. “I know it was yous, Jacobs. Don’t go actin’ all innocent. Yer the only one that can do that. You did just before we left.”

He heard a snicker behind him. “He blew up the toilets, right?” Jack said as he walked up next to Davey. “I’s can only imagine how gross that’d be.” He laughed again.

Davey shot Jack a look. Had Jack really sold him out? Did he seriously go and tell Spot about the kitchen being blown up? And he was just starting to like Jack.

Spot ignored Jack’s comments. “Crutchie went to go check what was for breakfast, and they said there was somthin’ wrong with the sinks in the kitchen sink. I know ya did it,” Spot said irritated. “And on top a that, ya snuck out! People were sayin’ it sounded like someone was sneakin’ ‘round on the roof of the train. What’s has gotten into ya?”

Davey swallowed. He felt his hands shaking. Before he could answer, Jack spoke up.

“Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout, Spotty? He was with me all night. Right, Davey?” He put an arm around Davey’s shoulder and smiled.

Barely able to speak, Davey nodded his head. He felt a huge knot in his stomach come undone.

Spot gave Jack a skeptical look. “Then, who do you propose did it, Jack?”

Jack shrugged. “Beats me. We heard the thumpin’ on the roof too. Woke us up. That how come we woke up late. Davey was right there with me the whole time.”

Davey was impressed with Jack’s ability to bend the truth so easily. It came almost naturally. It must’ve easy when you had that much confidence and that nice helping you out.

Spot rolled his eyes and sighed. “If you say so, Kelly. But, I’m keepin’ an eye on you twos.” He walked away.

“Bye,” Jack said, with a small wave. He gave Davey a wink and released him.

Davey’s voice finally returned to him. “You covered for me,” he breathed out.

Jack held a finger to his lips. “Don’t mention it. Told ya last night. I ain’t lettin’ ya do this alone.” He winked again and followed Spot.

Davey felt the lingering feeling of Jack’s arm around him. His hand went up to touch his shoulder gently.

“You two seem to be getting along.”

Davey was snapped from whatever trance Jack had put him in and looked over at Sarah. She was leaning against the doorway.

Davey scratched the back of his neck. “I guess so. We had a talk last night, and it turns out, he’s actually a really good guy.” Davey looked everywhere but his sister.

“Really? Because it seems like only yesterday, you were trying to drown him,” she said.

“I know, but he’s kind of grown on me. He’s…” _Cute._ “…fine. You should try to get to know him. You’d probably like him too.”

Sarah pursed her lips. “Maybe after all of this. So, something tells me you had another one of your dreams last night. Because, you know, you blew up the sinks.”

Davey laughed nervously. “Yeah, so maybe I did. It was kind of weird, mostly the ending part.”

She stepped out of the doorway. “Want to talk about it?”

“Sure. In your room? Katherine’s not in there, is she? Because I have some things I need to talk about in private.”

“Nope. Just you and me. Get in here, you weirdo.”

-

“So, what do you think?”

Sarah didn’t have the reaction he thought she’d have. She was smiling like she was holding back a laugh. “So, let me get this straight… you don’t just like Jack, you _like_ like him.”

Davey shook his head. “Is that all you got out of that?”

“No, no, but that’s what stood out to me. You were complaining about him just a while ago. Now, you’re, like, in love with the guy. What went on between you two last night?” She leaned forward with a smirk.

Davey looked away. “It’s a long story. And I _don’t_ like him!” He waved a dismissive hand. “That’s not important though. What about everything else I told you? What do you think?”

She sighed and crossed her arms. “Well, at least we know Les is okay, and it sounds like someone’s trying to take care of him. As for the kid… I have no idea about any of that. We know the kid’s in Santa Fe, so we’re on the right track.”

“Yeah… but what-”

There was a knock on the door. “Sarah? Can I come in?” Katherine’s voice came from behind the door.

The twins glanced at each other. Sarah gave him a look that said they’d talk more about it later. “Sure,” Sarah called back.

The door opened, and Katherine stepped in. She noticed Davey sitting next to Sarah and smiled. “Oh, hi, Dave. What are you doing here?”

Davey opened his mouth to respond, but Sarah replied first. “Oh, don’t worry. You aren’t interrupting anything.”

Katherine nodded. “Okay, cool. I figured something out and as hoping to tell you guys. Come out to the hall, so I can tell all of you.”

Sarah and Davey exchanged another look and did as Katherine told them. They found Crutchie and Jack laughing about something and Spot rummaging through his backpack for something.

“Okay, guys, listen up,” she said to them. “I found out a way- er, more like I realized an easy way to identify whether demigods are working for Kronos or not. This can help us in case we come across other demigods. Remember the Delanceys? Did anyone else notice the marks on their arms?”

“No,” Jack replied, “I was a little occupied.” He said it in such a lighthearted tone that it sounded like he was doing something other than dying.

Davey cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, I couldn’t see what it was though.”

“A scythe,” Spot said. He put his backpack on the floor. “Skittery had one on his neck.”

“Exactly!” Katherine exclaimed. “You see, the scythe is the mark of Kronos, so the people who have that mark seared somewhere on their body must be the ones we’re up against.”

Davey set his backpack down next to Spot’s. “So, you’re saying we won’t know unless we get close enough to see if they have a mark?”

Katherine gave half a shrug. “We just need to keep an eye out for those marks. One of us can have the mark and not even know it!”

Jack had a fake offended expression on. He brought his hand up to his chest. “How dare you! I am highly offended you think one of us would betray yous like that!”

“Jack, can ya take somethin’ serious for once?” Spot crossed his arms.

Davey noticed Jack sneak a glance in his direction. His fingers lightly tapped where his hand was placed on his chest. “Ugh, fine.”

Davey looked down to hide the small smile tugging at his lips.

“Anyway,” Katherine continued, “just be on the lookout for those marks. We’ll be in Santa Fe in less than an hour so get some rest. I have a feeling this is going to be a long trip.”

Davey turned to Sarah. “You want to continue our conversation?”

“Yeah. Grab your bag,” she answered.

Davey looked up to see Jack with an arm around Crutchie, talking about something presumably funny by the look on the younger boy’s face. Davey smiled as he grabbed his backpack. He never realized how good of an older brother Jack must’ve been. He and Crutchie seemed so close, always laughing and talking about whatever it was they talked about. Davey wondered if he and Les would get along.

“Hey,” Sarah whispered. “Stop checking out your guy, and get over here.”

Davey felt heat rise to his face. He practically jumped up. “I am not checking him out,” Davey whisper-yelled back. He and his sister went into Sarah’s room and sat on her bed.

Sarah crossed her arms. “Okay, I knew you had it for him but not that bad.” Her lips twitched, a smile trying not to form. “Are you sure Aphrodite didn’t just put it in your head or put a spell on you or something?”

“Shut up,” Davey said. He looked down.

Even if he did like Jack, what were the chances Jack returned those feelings? Jack was funny and caring and charismatic while Davey was… well, boring.

Unless the love goddess visited Jack in his dreams too. That could’ve been the reason he didn’t want to share such information with Davey.

Davey leaned back and felt something poking at him. He sat up. “Ow,” he muttered. He took off his backpack and put it next to him.

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Dave! First, you sneak out at night, and now you’re stealing? What has gotten into you?”

“Huh?” He looked down and realized he had grabbed the wrong backpack. It was Spot’s. “Oh no… actually, no wonder it was lighter and had something poking at my back.” He must’ve grabbed the wrong backpack when he was staring at Jack…

He hated that that was something he even had to think.

“David, you have to return it right now!”

Davey was about to stand up when an idea popped into his head. He unzipped the bag and went through its belongings. This was a bad idea, but he was going to do it anyway.

“David!”

“Hold on,” Davey muttered. “It must be in here somewhere.”

Sarah grabbed the bag from Davey’s hands. “What are you doing?! Spot’s going to kill us!”

Davey snatched it back from her. “I’m looking for something important. You’ll see.” Davey found a notebook and pulled it out. He flipped through a few pages until he found it. “Here!”

“What is that?” Sarah asked.

“If I’m right, then it’s the prophecy.” His hands shook slightly. “Look, I know what you’re going to say, but-”

Sarah gasped. “Are you kidding? David, you’re a genius! Let’s see it!”

Davey’s grip tightened on the notebook. “Okay… but we can’t tell anyone about this.” He held it to his sister. “Here, you read it.”

Sarah took the notebook with hesitation and read it aloud:

_“The Prince of the Underworld shall clash with the Son of the Sea_

_Those who are closest will not be who they seem to be_

_He shall decide the rise or fall of the titan king_

_And face his most challenging task the equinox of spring…”_

Silence.

Davey felt his palms sweat. It as certainly… what he’d been told… and more. More that he didn’t know. More information he didn’t think he liked.

Davey bit his bottom lip. His fingers twitched.

He watched as Sarah’s eyes scanned the page again. She kept looking it over like maybe there was something she had missed. “That’s it…” Sarah whispered. “That’s all it says…” Her voice shook. “Titan king… challenging task… that’s a lot.”

Davey bit his nail on his index finger. “Equinox of spring?” He muttered. “That’s…that’s not too far from now.” He stood up suddenly. “That’s two days from now!”

“Calm down, Dave,” Sarah said gently. She stood up and wrapped an arm around him. “It’s going to be fine. Trust me.”

“No, it won’t!” Davey snapped. “And not only that, what is that second line supposed to mean? Is that what Katherine was talking about earlier? Is someone in our group going to turn on us?!” Davey rubbed his temples with his index finger and thumb. “They have someone on the inside… that’s it! We’re already beat! They have someone who’s going to take us down from the inside!”

“Dave-”

“No! We’re going to die! I…I can’t even tell you how angry I am that Spot kept this from us!”

“Dave-”

“For all we know, he could’ve kept this from us because _he’s_ the one working for the other side!”

“David-”

_“I’m going to kill him!”_

“David Jacobs!” Sarah held him by both shoulders. She looked him dead in the eyes with the most serious expression Davey had ever seen. “Listen to me- hey! Listen before you go pointing fingers and killing anyone, calm down and listen!”

Davey balled his hands into fists but said nothing.

“Take a deep breath. Deep breaths. Do it right now,” she instructed.

Davey took in a deep breath and let it out.

“Again.”

Davey kept doing it until he felt his thoughts unclutter. “Okay,” he breathed. “Okay, I’m listening…”

“Good for you.” She sat him down. “Now, I can’t tell you everything is going to be fine because I don’t know. I’m not going to lie to you, Dave. I’m scared too. I’m just as angry as you are, but you need to take it down a notch. Spot’s the praetor and son of Mars. Do you think someone with that much status would give it up and side with Kronos? I…well… I don’t know. I don’t know a lot of things, but I do know this: I’m going to be here for you. I’m not leaving your side, no matter what.” She hugged Davey. She hugged him tightly. “We’re in this together.”

Davey hugged her back. He took in another breath. “Yeah… together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this really late at night, so I'm sorry about the errors. This was really light compared to what's going to happen next chapter...  
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! Please, leave comments and/or criticism! I really love reading what ya'll have to say! See you later guys, gals and non-binary pals!


	11. Santa Fe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Javid fluff and plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably apologize in advance because ya'll are gonna hate me by the end of this chapter... Anyway! There are some trigger warnings for this chapter, just in case. 
> 
> WARNING: Violence and blood and swearing (There's an f-bomb. I am only putting one of those in the story, and I'm glad I gave it to the character I did.)
> 
> With that out of the way, please enjoy the chapter!

The trip was shorter than Davey figured it’d be.

Maybe it was because he was on edge the rest of the trip with the possibility that anyone could turn on him at any moment, but hey, who’s to say? There were plenty of things to take into account.

Like the fact that Davey spent the rest of the trip in bed, paranoid that everyone was out to get him. He stayed looking out the window with Sarah or Jack or even Crutchie coming to check up on him every now and then. Man, Spot was right. He shouldn’t have read that prophecy. It was messing with his head.

But knowing the prophecy now, gave him time to think. It gave him time to think about his situation. In two days, he’d have to battle it out with the son of Hades and make a difficult decision. Alright, no big deal. He could probably take on a kid, and considering how Davey was getting better at controlling his powers, it’d be simple. But still, he didn’t like the idea of fighting some little kid who was probably just as freaked out as he was… He’d have to figure out what to do when he got to that point. He also thought about that other line that had him paranoid.

_Those who are closest will not be who they seem to be…_

That could be anyone. The only person Davey figured he could cross off the list was Sarah. Sarah would never turn her back on him. They were a team. There was no way she’d betray him, right?

He wasn’t so sure about the others, especially Spot. Both Spot and Katherine seemed clever enough to be able to hide it and cover up their tracks. They were the ones leading this whole operation. For all he knew, Spot or Katherine could be leading them into a trap.

Now, Crutchie and Jack also made sense. They were too oblivious and laidback about this whole thing. They could’ve easily been playing dumb. Okay, maybe not Jack. He was a little too clueless to be faking it.

“Davey!” Jack exclaimed as he slammed open the door. Speaking of Jack…

Davey jumped up from where he was sitting. “Huh? What?” Jack had a huge grin on his face.

“Come on, we’s made it to Santa Fe!” He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He grabbed Davey’s and threw him.

Davey grabbed his backpack and put it on. He had gotten his back a while ago. He let Sarah give Spot back his bag because he knew the praetor wouldn’t be as upset with her.

Davey stood up and adjusted his bag. Jack held the door open for him. “Ladies first.” He smiled and gestured toward the door.

“Is that why you’re outside first?”

Jack laughed. “Fine, be that way. I was just tryin’ to do something nice for ya.”

Davey chuckled. Jack shut the door behind them. There was a crowd of people filing out of their rooms. Jack took Davey’s hand.

“Hold my hand. We don’t want ya gettin’ lost now, do we?” Jack said.

Davey just nodded as he held onto Jack’s hand. It was really cold compared to Davey’s warm, sweaty palms. He squeezed Jack’s hand as they exited the train and stepped out to the station. Davey looked around and noticed there weren’t as many people getting off as it seemed. He spotted Sarah and the other three and waved to let her know where they were. He noticed how she began laughing when she saw him. He tried to figure out why but then realized he was still holding Jack’s hand.

He looked away from her and pulled his hand from Jack’s grip. Jack raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He just put his hands in his sweater’s pockets. They headed over to the others.

“Heya, Jackie boy,” Crutchie greeted with a smile. “Ready to head out? Think it’ll be everything you hoped it’d be?”

Jack shrugged. “I’m hopin’ or else the internet lied to me,” he said jokingly. He rested his elbow on the younger boy’s shoulder and directed his attention to Spot. “So, where we goin’, Spotty? Any specific place we should be headin’?”

Spot rolled his eyes at the nickname. “The kid could be anywhere. We know he’s here, just not where he is. Or even what the kid looks like! The only one who knows that is…” He sighed and turned to Davey.

Davey pointed to himself. “Me?”

“No duh, you’ve seen ‘im in your dreams. What’s the kid look like?”

All eyes were on him now. He wrung his hands together nervously. “Well,” his voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “You know, he was like five or six… or at least it looked that way. Black hair, shoulder-length. And he was really pale. Like a ghost, kind of. And… that’s it.”

He noticed a weird look in Spot’s eyes, but it was hard for Davey to make out because it was gone just as quickly as it arrived. Davey wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He rolled his shoulders back. “Alright, then that’s what we’re lookin’ for. We’ll split up to cover more ground. Crutchie, you’re with me. Kath, with Sarah. And Jack, you take care of Jacobs there.”

Jack linked his arm with Davey’s. “Yes sir!” He said giving a mock salute. “You can count on me.”

Crutchie looked from Jack to Davey then back. “You two gonna be fine? Y’know, by yourselves?”

Before Davey could say anything, Jack responded. “’Course we will! It’ll be fun, right Dave?”

“Uh, yeah,” Davey responded with a nod. “Yeah, we can handle each other for a few hours.”

Crutchie looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t. Spot looked at the girls and he and Katherine shared a nod. “Alright, the cities not too big, so we should be able to find the kid quick. We’re in quick, we get out quick. We reconvene here by the train station in two hours. Everyone got that?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good, let’s get goin’.”

-

Jack was not lying when he said he always wanted to come here.

They found a map, and it felt like Jack knew every inch of the city already. It seemed like those hours of research paid off because he was telling Davey about the tourist attractions and other information like he had lived there his whole life.

Davey found it endearing. Watching Jack get so excited about something that Davey found so mundane was kind of… for lack of a better term, cute. He listened intently as Jack talked about things he had read about Santa Fe. Davey began noticing things he hadn’t noticed about Jack before. For example, he never noticed it before, but when Jack smiled, he had these little dimples that weren’t very easy to see but if you looked close enough, you could see they were there. He also did this thing where he licked his lips after he finished going off on a long tangent. His eyes also had this sort of excitement Davey never noticed.

When they locked eyes, Davey noticed again how Jack’s eyes seemed to look different colors in the light. It was almost hypnotic, the way his eyes managed to capture Davey’s own eyes. It was like he was trying to keep Davey’s attention on him.

Davey began wondering if maybe he did like Jack… No, no way. He did not like Jack that way…did he?

“Hey, Davey,” Jack said, pulling Davey from his thoughts. “Wanna get somethin’ to eat? I’m starvin’.”

“Uh, sure. We’ve been out here four at least an hour. I’m guessing you have a restaurant in mind?”

Jack smiled. “Yup,” he said popping the p. “It ain’t anything too fancy, but it’s real good. At least, that’s what I hear.”

“Of course,” Davey said with a playful smile. He felt Jack drape an arm over his shoulder and looked away. “Just lead the way, Jackie.”

“You know, I never get tired of hearin’ that nickname. ‘Specially from you.” He couldn’t see it, but Davey could certainly hear the smile in Jack’s voice. Not his usual mischievous smile though. It was something softer.

Jack slipped his arm off Davey’s shoulder and found his hand. He took it and led the way. Davey bit the inside of his cheek. “You don’t think Spot will mind if we take a break, right?”

“As long as he don’t find out,” Jack said with a smirk. “And we ain’t gonna run into each other ‘cause Spot and Crutchie said they was headed east. We’re goin’ west and Sarah and Kath are checkin’ out the south part of town. So, we don’t got anythin’ to worry ‘bout.”

“True, but he won’t figure out we stopped for a few minutes?” Davey asked, a little unsure.

Jack turned back around and laughed. “Nah! My brother thinks he’s got everything figured out, but I ain’t scared of him.”

Davey tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

He thought for a moment. “Look, I love my brother. I do, but he’s a bit of a know-it-all. Just ‘cause he’s praetor at that other camp don’t mean he’s got everything figured out. Like, I don’t even know how he ended up praetor when he’s not even-” He cut himself off abruptly. He put a hand up to his mouth and dragged it down his face so it was scratching his neck. He took in a deep breath and let it out.

Davey raised an eyebrow. “Not even what?”

“Nothin’. Wasn’t anything that’ll matter,” Jack said.

“Everything you say matters to me.” As soon as it left his mouth, he regretted saying it. He had not planned on it coming out that way.

Jack had that smile again. “Gee, Dave. I’m touched. Do I matter that much to ya?”

Davey groaned. He knew his face was red already from being out in the heat so long but it must’ve been a darker shade of red now. He could feel himself blushing. “You know what I mean!”

“Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it, Davey. I know exactly what ya mean.”

It was hard to tell if Jack was joking or being serious. When he was about to open his mouth to talk again, Jack interrupted him yet again.

“Aha! Here we are!”

Davey looked up to see they were in front of a small building. Jack wasn’t kidding when he said it wasn’t anything fancy. The building looked pretty old and tiny with one of those glowing signs that said ‘Open’. He looked through one of the large windows to see a few people sitting inside. Davey tilted his head. “Where’d you hear about this place from? Doesn’t look like anything you’d hear about online.”

“A friend actually,” Jack explained. “He said this is was a place I _had_ to visit if I ever came here. And I trust him ‘cause he knows what I like.” Jack shrugged. He released Davey’s hand and opened the door for them. Davey walked in.

He had to admit, despite the outside being a little rundown, the inside was really nice. It had a very at-home feel to it. It was a pleasant little dinner with booths and windows that looked out into the dry, desert landscape. And there was plenty to look out at since they were somewhere on the edge of town.

They sat down at a booth that was near the back. Davey sat across from Jack, who was checking the place out. He hummed. “Hmm. I like it. Real cozy, ain’t it?”

“Heh… Yeah. It is pretty nice.” He looked out the window and admired the view. It was sunny and nice outside.

Jack leaned back in the booth and picked up a menu. “Yeah… nice, quiet, calm. Nice place for a date, huh?”

Davey felt his shoulders tense up. “Uh…I-I guess so. Like, if…if you were to take someone on a date here,” Davey stammered out. Was…was Jack trying to flirt with him? Or was this just more of his playful teasing?

Jack chuckled. “Yeah…” He tapped his foot on the floor. “Anyway, what are you gonna get?”

Davey was glad for the quick change of subject. “Oh, um, probably just water.”

“Aw, come on, Davey. I know youse didn’t eat breakfast. I got money, so I’ll pay.”

“I can’t let you do that for me, Jackie.”

Jack waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Or we could share somethin’. Hm?”

Davey tapped the table. “Ugh, okay.” He looked passed Jack and noticed a woman staring at them.

She was an older looking woman with her face sort of contorted into an expression of disgust. He figured she was one of those old-timers who didn’t like people like him and must’ve thought they were on a date. Which they were not! He rolled his eyes focused on Jack, trying to ignore her piercing gaze.

“What were you thinking about getting?” His leg bounced under the table. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand.

“Pancakes, duh. We skipped breakfast.”

“Jack, it’s noon.”

“I see no issue here.”

Davey rolled his eyes and smiled. “Alright, if you insist.”

It wasn’t long before a waitress came over to take their order. Davey asked for water while Jack ordered a plate of pancakes. Davey cringed when Jack ordered his drink.

“Jack, drinking coke with pancakes is disgusting!”

“Maybe to you.”

Davey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He may or may not have had a crush on a huge idiot. “Whatever. Hey, I need to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“What were you going to say about Spot back there?”

Jack looked up from the menu then stood it up to where Davey couldn’t see his face. “Sorry, Jack isn’t here right now. Yer gonna have to call back.” His voice mocked that of an answering machine.

Davey pulled down the menu. “Please, Jackie. Why does everyone insist on hiding things from me? Everyone’s being so secretive.” He crossed his arms.

Jack sighed. “I can’t answer that. It ain’t any of my business to talk about.”

“But you don’t…you don’t think he’s a bit suspicious? You know, because he keeps so many secrets. Or that he could be the one to turn on us?”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. His back straightened up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean. Okay, look I read the prophecy-”

“Ha! Look at you go. Ya snuck out one night, and now ya got a thing for breakin’ the rules!”

“I’m serious, Jack!” He reached over and grabbed his hand. “Look, I know he’s your brother, but the prophecy said someone was going to turn on us, and I think it might be Spot.”

Jack looked down. He squeezed Davey’s hand. “Dave,” his voice was lower than usual. “Dave, he’s my brother. He’s a little rough ‘round the edges, but he’d never do that.”

Davey squeezed back. “Jackie, are you sure?”

Jack looked down. “Yeah. Yeah. He’d never do that. What ‘bout yer sister? You don’t think it’s her?”

“Of course not! She’d never… Oh, I see what you did there.”

A faint smile appeared on Jack’s face. “Don’t feel good when it’s yer sibling being, is it?”

Davey rolled his eyes. “Ugh, I see your point, but just… it’s just a thought.”

“And that’s just my thought.”

The waitress brought their drinks over. Jack took a few small sips of his drink then stopped. He was focused on something behind Davey. Davey turned around and saw it was that woman. But, wasn’t she… Davey looked behind Jack and noticed it was the same woman. His eyes must’ve been playing tricks on him. Or he figured until Jack abruptly stood up.

“Jack?”

He grabbed Davey’s hand and pulled him up.

“Jackie?”

He looked around attentively. “Dave,” he whispered, “We gotta get outta here.”

He wasn’t going to argue. Something felt off and if Jack felt it too, then it must’ve been bad. Jack saw their waitress, canceled their order, and dragged Davey out. Jack walked at a pace so fast it was considered more of a jog than a walk. He stopped when they were hidden behind a huge building.

“Jack,” Davey finally said, “what happened?”

Jack was still on high alert. “Furies,” he said simply.

“Care to elaborate?”

“Y’know, Furies. With the fangs and the wings and the claws. There’s three of ‘em. There were two back there. I don’t know where the third one is.”

Davey leaned against the wall. “Wait, why didn’t they attack us?”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know, but they-” He froze, his eyes going wide. “Oh, my gods…” He turned to Davey and gripped his shoulders. “They work for Hades. He must’ve sent ‘em to look for-”

“His son,” Davey finished. “He’s looking for his son. He must be trying to stop the prophecy from happening too. You think if we ask, they could help-”

“No!” Jack shook his head. “No! No! No! We are _not_ askin’ monsters for help! We can do this ourselves.”

“But monsters call smell demigods. They’d be able to hunt him down for us.”

“No way,” Jack insisted. “I don’t trust no monsters.”

Davey stood upright to face Jack and put his hands on his hips. “Well, what do you suggest we do then, Mr. Smart Guy?”

Jack grunted. He thought for a second then did a double-take on something he saw behind Davey. “I suggest we look there.” He pointed to something in the distance.

Davey turned and followed Jack’s finger. In the distance, there was a small house. It was so far in the distance; it must’ve been just outside the city limits. Even from where they were, Davey could easily see that the house was old and broken down. It was abandoned. Davey’s mind went back to his dream. That must’ve been the house from his dream. The son of Hades must’ve been there.

He turned back to Jack and nodded. They walked out toward the house, staying alert in case those Furies came at them. The closer they got, the more torn down the house looked.

Windows were shattered, parts of the roof were caved in, paint was chipping. It looked like something must’ve happened there because time could only make a house look so bad. At least the door was still intact.

Jack touched the wall gingerly. “Oh, gods… this place is a mess.” He scratched off some chipped paint.

Davey turned the handle and opened the door. He took a step inside and scanned the room. It was a disaster. A bookshelf was knocked over with books scattered everywhere. The wallpaper was peeling away. A couch and chair were torn to shreds and there was wood scattered everywhere that looked to be the remains of a table. He walked into the dusty room.

Jack came in after him. He put a hand over his mouth. “The hell happened here?”

“That’s a good question. Come on.” He took Jack’s hand and led him deeper into the house.

There was a kitchen, a bathroom, and two bedrooms, so the house wasn’t that big. It was smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside. Davey recognized one of the bedrooms like the one from his dream. It looked just as bad as it did in his vision. They slowly entered the room.

Davey looked around the room. Everything was the same except… where was the kid?

“He should’ve been here,” Davey said just above a whisper. “In my dream… I saw this room in my dream. And he was here!” Davey raised his voice. “How can he…Where… Where is he?!”

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. “Davey-”

“He was here! He was standing right here!” Davey went to the place the kid was. “Right here! Next to the dresser! I-I swear!”

“Dave-”

“This was the only lead we had! How could he not be here? Unless it was some kind of flashback…” He pulled at his hair in frustration. “Oh gods! What if that’s what it was?! He’s not here! That was our only lead! I-”

“David Jacobs, calm down!” Jack gripped his shoulders tightly. “Get ahold of yourself! Just breathe. Calm down or somethin’s gonna end up explodin’.”

Davey took in a breath.

“That’s it. Breathe.”

Davey took in another deep breath and let it out. “Okay…okay. I’m fine.”

“There ya go. Better?”

“Hardly.” He leaned against the dresser. “This was the only lead we had. All we can do now is hope the others have something useful. I can’t believe it.”

“Hey, ya did all you could.” Jack took his hand. “And that’s good enough.”

Davey nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I just wish. I could’ve done something more.” He sighed. “This was supposed to be my quest. I thought I could do this, but I can’t.” He slid down to the floor and held his knees close. “I thought with completing this quest and being useful in some way, I’d be able to prove something to my dad…to everyone. People always made fun of me for who made dad is. People thought Sarah and I were both useless and good for nothing, and I thought I’d be able to earn people’s respect through this quest, but…”

His fingers grasped at the cloth of his jeans. “I can’t…everyone was right about me. The kids at camp, Spot, Smalls… even my dad was smart enough to not get involved with me.”

Jack knelt. He gently brushed Davey’s curls from his face. “Hey,” he said gently, “it’s okay. If it’s worth anything… I don’t think yer worthless.”

Then, he hugged Davey. Davey stiffened at Jack’s touch.

Jack continued. “I think you're the opposite actually. You have gotta be one of the smartest, strongest, most determined, and bravest demigods I know.” He pulled away and smiled softly. “Think ‘bout it. You are riskin’ yer life to go after some dangerous demigod ya don’t know, knowin’ that if you fail with this kid, you could die. And even at that, after so many years of bein’ bullied, yer still tryin’ to prove yourself. And don’t even get me started on yer powers ‘cause I was on the other end of it, so I should know how that felt.”

Davey felt a smile spread across his face. “Don’t remind me.”

Jack sat beside him. “And ‘sides, I didn’t even get to the part that ya threw yourself into this blind. And it should matter what yer godly parent thinks or what anyone thinks. You, Davey, are somethin’ special. Never forget that.”

He stood up and offered his hand to Davey. Davey took it and stood up. A smile pulled at his lips. He hugged Jack. Jack hugged him back. “Thank you, Jackie,” he muttered. “That does mean a lot.”

Jack squeezed him. His hand gently caressed Davey’s hair. After what seemed like hours, he pulled away. He rubbed his arm gently and looked out the window silently.

Davey sighed. Well, the kid wasn’t here. Now, all they had to do was wait a while longer to see if the others had anything. Davey tried to think back to his dream for something that might’ve been useful. He dug until he realized there was something that might’ve been useful.

He stood in front of the dresser and opened the top drawer. There wasn’t much in there. Broken toys, an old empty crushed box of crayons, and a crumpled-up piece of paper. Davey reached in and picked up the paper.

His hands shook as he opened up the paper. The crumpling noise echoed through the silence. It was a picture. No, not a picture. A drawing. It was a drawing that was obviously made by a little kid. It was like the kind of drawings Les would draw of their family when he was younger. It was a simple child’s drawing of three people.

One of them was a tall figure with a rectangle for a body and sticks for limbs. It was colored in black with black hair scribbled on the circular head. The second one was a little shorter with an upside-down triangle for a body. It was colored with green and long brown hair scribbled into it with what looked like a simple flower crayoned on with pink. Finally, in the middle was one that looked like a much shorter version of the first one colored in with blue and holding hands with the other two.

Three figures. A father, a mother, and their son. Hades, Persephone, and their son. A completed family. Well, what used to be a completed family.

It almost saddened Davey. The poor kid must really miss his family. And without a mortal parent, he didn’t have anyone to turn to. Being mortal with two godly parents must’ve been hard for that poor kid.

Davey then noticed that in the corner of the paper were initials in red crayon. He looked at it but could hardly make out the letters. Just his luck that this kid had sloppy handwriting. Then again, he was only at kindergarten age.

He turned it over but was met with a blank page.

That was all they had to go off of. Initials in a child’s bad handwriting. Well… it was something.

He flattened out the paper and folded it to put it in his pocket. He turned to Jack to tell them they could leave but stopped in his tracks.

He felt his heart race in his chest. The dim light shined against Jack’s features, softening them. His eyes shined in the sunlight through the window. With the way he was positioned looking out the window, it was almost like looking at a painting. He couldn’t help but stare. He just had such a nice face.

He didn’t think he’d been staring too long, but then Jack’s eyes looked at him. He smiled. It was that kind of playful smile he always had. “It’s rude to stare, ya know.”

Davey let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I-I wasn’t staring.”

Jack turned away from the window and moved from the window. He chuckled. “Whatever you say.” He walked closer to Davey. “I don’t mind though. You can stare anytime.”

Davey looked down. He knew he must’ve been blushing, and he didn’t want to give Jack the satisfaction of seeing him flustered.

He felt Jack place a gentle hand oh his shoulder. Davey went stiff. He looked up to see Jack’s face only a few inches from his.

His pulse raced faster than any adrenaline rush he ever experienced. His palms were sweating. Everything seemed like it was spinning. Jack’s hand had moved from his shoulder to Davey’s face, gently making it so he was facing him. He leaned forward.

Someone cleared their throat.

Davey automatically jumped back and saw Jack do the same thing. Jack’s face went red, and Davey’s face must’ve been the same.

“What are you twos doin’ in here?”

Davey shook his head to bring himself back to reality. He looked up to see both Spot and Crutchie standing in the doorway.

Crutchie was covering his eyes with his left hand and had an expression that looked like he was trying not to smile. Spot was leaning against the doorway with an amused look and his arms crossed.

“We were- It’s not- We just-”

“Lookin’ for anything that might help us” Jack responded. “What’s it look like?”

“Like you twos was ‘bout to kiss,” Crutchie said, removing his hand from his eyes. “Did ya get some, Jackie boy?”

“We were _not_!” Davey cut in.

“Yeah,” Jack said hurriedly. “I was just wipin’ something from his face. He had a buncha dust on his cheek.” He wiped Davey’s cheek with his thumb and showed them his thumb. “See! Whole buncha dust!”

Davey touched the place Jack’s hand was. “Y-yeah, that’s what it was! I accidentally fell and got dust everywhere.”

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “Yeah, that’s what happened.”

Spot and Crutchie exchanged an unconvinced look. “Sure,” they said in unison.

Jack rolled his shoulders back. “What’re you twos doin’ here anyway? Aren’t ya supposed to be across town right now?”

“Well yeah,” Crutchie said. “But we asked around, and some real nice people said that if we was lookin’ for somethin’ to do with anything out of the ordinary. Said this place might be haunted and that sometimes people see shadows ‘n stuff like that.”

Davey sighed. “Well, we haven’t found anything. Except-” Davey pulled out the drawing. “-I found this. It has some initials on it, but I can’t read it.” He showed it to Crutchie and Spot.

“Look at that. The kid’s a better artist than you, Jack,” Crutchie teased.

“Oh no, I feel threatened,” Jack said in a flat tone.

Spot stared at the drawing. “I think that’s a T, maybe? And a Z or S?” He rolled his eyes. “Ugh, kid handwriting. Well, that’s somethin’. The kid’s initials are T.S.”

“So, we’re lookin’ for someone with a name that starts with a T and last name S,” Crutchie said. “Doesn’t narrow it down too much, but we’ll know ‘im when we hear his name.”

Davey put the picture back in his pocket. “Should we head back to meet with Sarah and Katherine to tell them what we found?”

Crutchie checked his watch. “Yup, we should be headin’ back soon anyway. Come on.”

-

“Wait, they really saw him?”

“Yeah!” Sarah bounced excitedly. She squeezed Davey’s arm. “We’re so close! These two guys said they’ve seen some kid that matches your description! Last time they saw him was near some cavern over the city limit!”

“Then, that’s where we’re headed next,” Spot said. “Did they say where it was?”

“It’s a few hours from here actually,” Katherine responded. “But… I’m not too sure we trust what these guys said because _someone_ -” She narrowed her eyes at Sarah. “-took off without me.”

“But it worked,” Sarah said with a smug look on her face. “We know where to look now.”

“You don’t know if they were telling the truth,” Katherine snapped back. “Did you even get their names?”

“Well, no. But they were kids and seemed to know their way around, so I don’t think there’s too much to worry about.”

Katherine sighed. “Ugh, well that and the kid’s name are the only lead we have, I guess. So, let’s head out.”

They were able to find a bus that would take them out to the caverns. It was about a six-hour trip. Davey didn’t mind it though. He took a little nap on the way there, and what made it better was that Jack was sitting next to him the whole way. He had fallen asleep not far into the bus ride and leaned his head against Davey. Davey didn’t want to bother him, so he left him to lean against him and even put an arm around him. It was… kind of cute. The way he got comfortable and intertwined their fingers together. It was just really sweet. Davey began figuring that on the very, _very_ slim chance he did like Jack, it wouldn’t be too bad.

After a while of sitting like that, Davey woke up and saw they were at their destination. It was getting dark already. Crutchie checked his watch and said it was almost six o’clock.

They got off the bus and found it after a short walk. There was a sign nearby that read ‘Carlsbad Caverns National Park’.

Crutchie read a sign nearby. “Uh oh,” he said. “Looks like we’re an hour too late. Park closes at five.”

Jack lifted his arm to stretch it. “When have rules ever stopped us, huh?”

Crutchie nodded. “True. We can probably sneak in. If we’re caught though, I’m sure I can play the role of the adorable lost child.” He smiled. “Just look at me. I’m adorable!”

Jack ruffled his hair. “You can really tell yer a son of Apollo,” he laughed.

Crutchie shrugged and punched him playfully. “Eh, what can I says? I get my looks from my pa.”

“I don’t think we’ll get caught,” Katherine said. “As long as none of you go off on your own and we all stick together. Got it? Jack? Sarah?”

“Hey!” They said in unison.

Davey covered his smile.

Jack turned to him with his usual smirk. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, Kathy! I got Seaweed Brain here to watch me.” He reached for Davey’s hand. “He’s been keepin’ me in check all day.”

Davey noticed Crutchie’s smiled. He looked like he wanted to bring up what happened earlier but said nothing.

It wasn’t long before they were in. They were able to find the entrance to the cavern in no time. Things were going well. A little too well. No monster attacks. No evil demigods. Nothing. Davey felt a weird sense of dread. He looked over at Jack, who looked like he may have felt the same way.

Spot stopped them. “Everyone quiet. Yous here that?”

Light thumps were coming from inside the cavern. It sounded like…like footsteps.

Katherine nodded. “Yeah,” she whispered. “There is definitely someone there. We can’t just go in there without a plan though. What if this is a trap?”

“What do you suggest we do?” Sarah cut in whispering.

Spot took in a breath. “We take ‘em by surprise. We just gotta find out to get in there without letting whoever’s in there know we’re comin’.”

Katherine nodded. “We go in slowly and stay a few feet apart, so they can’t jump us if it’s an attack.”

“Exactly,” Spot responded. “Me and Kath’ll go first, and then- What Jack?”

Jack had his hand raised. He put it down. “Actually, how ‘bout… we don’t go in?”

Davey tilted his head confused. Spot raised his eyebrow. “What’re you talking about? We gotta go in-”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Jack said. He ran a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head. “I just- I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“What? Why not?” Katherine asked.

“I don’t know.” Jack shrugged. “I just don’t think this is a good idea. Somethin’ bad is gonna happen. I can feel it. Just listen to me for once, Spotty.”

Davey remembered his and Jack’s conversation that morning. He remembered Jack saying that something bad was going to happen. He never elaborated on it, but he had a dream something bad was going to happen and nothing too bad had happened yet.

Spot gave Jack a look. “That ain’t too good a reason, Kelly. It’ll just be quick. In and out. Got it?”

Jack bit his lip but nodded. “Yes sir…”

They entered the cavern, trying to make as little noise as possible. Jack stayed at the back of the group, just behind Crutchie. They walked deeper into the cavern. It got darker and darker the deeper they went. Davey was hardly able to see in front of him, but he felt Sarah reach out for his hand and took it. Then, there was a dim light. A dim light at the bottom and a figure. A figure sitting in the corner.

Davey’s eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks.

It was him.

Oh gods…it really was him.

Sitting near a wall, with his head buried in his knees, was the son of Hades.

Davey felt Sarah tug on his shirt. He could hardly see her face but knew she was as freaked out as he was.

“Oh my…” Katherine whispered in awe. “Those Jacobs twins were right…”

“What do we do?” Crutchie whispered.

“I guess… we go talk to ‘im,” Spot whispered.

The group made their way over to the kid.

Davey noticed how small he was. He was so skinny and frail-looking. His skin was as pale as a ghost, and his hair was draped over his eyes. Small noises came from him that sounded like crying. He was shaking a little too.

The six of them looked at each other as if to ask who would speak first. Sarah finally sighed and stepped forward.

“Hey there,” she said in a soft voice. She leaned down. It echoed off the cave walls. “Hey, don’t cry. We’re here to help you. I’m Sarah. What’s your name?”

The kid froze. He looked up at her with his bright brown eyes… wait… that couldn’t be right…

Davey took Sarah’s arm to stop her from getting any closer. She turned and gave him a look that said ‘what the heck?!’, and Davey returned it with a look that said ‘trust me. Don’t get near him’.

Sarah stood up. “What’s the matter?”

“That’s not him,” Davey said just above a whisper.

“What do you mean?” Katherine asked. “Look at him. He’s scared to death.”

The kid wrung his hands together and scooted back. His eyes darted to each one of them.

“Trust me,” Davey said. He could feel his heart beat against his rib cage. “That is _not_ who we’re looking for. It’s…It’s not him. It’s-”

“-a trap.” A voice came from behind them.

Davey whipped around to see Oscar and Morris Delancey and that kid, Skittery. But there was also another boy with them. He had curly brown hair that fell in his face and tan skin.

Oscar smirked. The scar on his face contorted in that ugly manner. “A trap that you all fell for. Honestly, I thought you all were smarter than this.”

Sarah was left frozen, staring at the four of them. “Oh gods…oh gods…” She repeated under her breath.

“Yup, figured as long we send in people yous didn’t know; you’d fall for it.” He turned to Skittery. “Alright, you can lift the mist.”

Skittery waved his hand in the direction of the decoy son of Hades. He stood up and slowly morphed into someone else. His hair became a fiery red color that was cut short. He grew to a teenage boy’s height, and his frail stature became more of an athletic build. He was a completely different person. He walked over to join the other demigods.

“Finally,” he said annoyed. “Ya know how long I had to sit there pretending to cry. That was not easy work.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Davey noticed Jack and Crutchie flinch.

“Albert…” Crutchie’s voice quivered. “No… Mush, not you too…” He put his hand over his mouth in disbelief.

Jack put an arm around Crutchie. “You…” Jack said through clenched teeth. “Why- How could you?!”

“You absolute bastards!” Spot exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t be talkin’ if I were you, Sean,” Skittery said, leaning against his steel sword. “Remember Antonio.”

Spot balled his hands into fists. He looked about ready to throw down with them. “Don’t talk about Race.” He gritted his teeth.

Davey looked from Spot to the demigods. It never occurred to him that he had never heard Spot’s name. He knew it couldn’t have been Spot, but it was weird hearing him called anything other than Spot.

Oscar held a hand up to stop Skittery from saying anything else. “Well, now that we got yer attention… how ‘bout we try this again? Huh? Let’s do a little trade-off.”

“What do you want?” Spot said pausing between each word.

“Woah, calm down there, Shorty. We don’t wanna fight here. Because the cave may or may not come down if you decide to try something funny. We just want the son of Neptune in exchange for letting yous outta here unharmed.” He smiled. “Now, I think that sounds like a fair trade, don’t it fellas?”

The others nodded in agreement. “Sounds fair to me,” Morris agreed.

“No way,” Jack said in a more serious voice than Davey had ever heard. “He ain’t goin’ anywhere with yous.”

Oscar shrugged. “Have it your way then.” He held out his hand, and Skittery handed him the sword.

He pointed it toward them. “Attack.”

It all happened so suddenly.

The first one to attack was Spot. In one swift move of the hand, he had his spear out and slashing at Skittery. Skittery ran in the opposite direction.

Then, Oscar came at Davey with his sword raised. Davey jumped back as he brought it down. He kept slashing at Davey. A predictable pattern though. Slash right. Slash left. Davey was able to pull out his imperial gold sword in time to block one that came straight down on him.

Crutchie dodged Mush’s attacks. It looked like he was trying to talk to him. He didn’t pull out a weapon. He just tried to reason with his friend.

Katherine and Sarah took on Morris. Katherine whipped out a dagger. She came at him from behind. She sprinted past him but got hit in the process. She held her arm in pain.

Sarah blinded him by using water from a nearby water fountain. She kept squirting him with water in the face until eventually, the fountain blew up. A giant rush of water knocked him down.

Jack and Albert went at each other like it was nothing. Jack dodging every hit. He gave the occasional snarky comment which seemed to anger Albert. Like Crutchie, he didn’t pull out a weapon. He just dodged the attacks.

Davey tried his best to focus on Oscar, but he worried about Sarah and Jack and the others. He kept glancing over to see what was going on with each of them.

The sound of metal against metal echoed through the cave walls. Grunts and gasps of pain came from different people every few seconds. It was a huge blur.

Sweat dripped from his forehead as he tried to keep himself upright. Davey took found an opening as Oscar raised his sword and stabbed. Oscar howled in pain and stumbled back. Davey grinned as he watched him hold his side in pain.

Oscar glared at him. “Why you little-” He slashed lower.

Davey felt a sharp pain on his knee. He put his weight on his other knee and clenched his teeth. He wished he could get him the way he did last time. He wanted to encase him in that water again. He wanted to hurt him.

Davey took a step back and realized he had been cornered. He couldn’t go any further.

Oscar came at him again. Davey did the only thing he could think to do. He kicked him in the shin with all the force he could and ran. He tried to catch his breath but Oscar spun around and kicked him to the ground. Davey fell forward right on his face.

Immediately, he felt something warm dripping down his face. He cleaned his nose with his sleeve. Blood came dripping down his face like a water faucet. All he could smell was the copper scent filling his nose.

He looked up to see Oscar pointing his sword straight at him. “End of the line, Jacobs. You’re comin’ with us as orders from the boss.”

Davey clenched his fists. “No!” He grabbed his sword and took another jab at Oscar. This time, it goes straight into his side. It pierces his flesh.

Oscar gave him a look of disbelief and screamed in pain.

Davey pulled out his sword. The tip was covered in blood. Davey stood up and wiped the blood from his nose. He took in a deep breath as he watched Oscar struggle to stay on two feet.

Oscar doubled over and coughed. He coughed up blood. His sword fell out of his reach. He tried to catch his breath and looked up at Davey.

“Ya know,” he said in a strained voice, “Our orders were to bring ya alive for the boss to deal with…” He shut his eyes in pain. “But I’m sure he’d understand if we explained why we had to end it here…”

Without warning, he punched Davey in the face. Davey stumbled backward. He felt a fist collide with his face again. And again. And again. Until he eventually felt his head crash against the wall. He slid down in pain and looked up at Oscar.

“Your quest ends here,” he said.

He whistled to signal to the others. When he had their attention, he nodded in a direction.

With that, there was a loud explosion. Davey looked up and noticed everything shaking. And it wasn’t just from all the blood he lost.

The walls began to fall. Everything began to fall apart. And…and fire. There was fire everywhere.

Oscar grinned. His eyes were wild like a mad man. “Goodbye, son of Neptune. Forever.”

He grabbed his sword and managed to make his escape.

Davey looked around at the destruction. Walls crumbling. Fire everywhere. The cave coming down on them.

This was it. This was what Jack had dreamt about, wasn’t it? This is why he didn’t want to come down here. This was the end of the line.

Davey struggled to keep his eyes open. His eyes hurt. His nose hurt. His face hurt. Everything hurt. He was going to die.

“Davey!” He heard Jack scream.

“Huh?” His voice came out weak.

He felt hands on his shoulders. “Yer fine, Davey. Oh geez, are you okay?”

Davey let out a shaky breath. “I’m fine, Jackie… Are you okay?” He forced his eyes open. Jack seemed fine. A little messy and roughed-up but fine.

He had a terrified expression. “I’m fine, Dave. I’m fine. But we gotta get outta here now! Before-”

Another explosion cut him off.

“Crap…”

Everything was falling apart around them. “Jack…” Davey’s voice was scratchy and weak. “Jack, if we’re going to die, I just wanted to say-”

“None of yous is dyin’ on my watch!”

Then, Davey felt Jack’s arms around his waist. He felt Jack lift him and carry him over his shoulders. Jack grunted and looked around. “There! Guys!”

Everyone turned.

“This way!”

“Jack, that’s deeper into the cave!” Katherine exclaimed. “We’re trying to get out!”

“Well, the entrance is kinda on fire,” Jack retorted. “I didn’t know you was a child of Hephaestus. Please, be my guest and run into the fire.”

Katherine groaned. “Fine. Everyone this way!”

Everyone ran away from the wreckage. Debris fell everywhere. Fire was in every corner. They didn’t stop until they reached a stable area. Jack set Davey down and caught his breath.

Davey noticed the way his face went pale. Jack looked around frantically.

“No,” he whispered. “No. No. No!”

“Jack?” Davey asked. “What-”

“Where’s Crutchie?!” Panic was written all over Jack’s face. “Crutchie!” He called. His voice quivered.

“Jack!”

“Crutchie!”

Crutchie was on the floor, tears falling from his face. A giant boulder had fallen right behind him.

Davey’s heart sunk when he managed to recognize what was happening. His leg was stuck.

Jack tried to run back and get him, but Katherine grabbed his arm. “Are you crazy?! You can’t go back out there,” Katherine screamed over the sound of rocks hitting the ground.

He tried to pry his arm from her grasp, but Katherine had an iron grip. “I have to go back! Let me go back! Crutchie!”

“Jack!” Crutchie screamed back. He looked like he was thinking for a moment then sighed. Another piece of debris fell next to him. He wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Keep goin’. You’ll be fine without me…” His voice came out more steadily.

“Crutchie?” The look on Jack’s face showed that his heart was about to break into a million pieces. “No… No, you can’t…”

“I ain’t givin’ up. I’m just lettin’ yous go. I can’t keep goin’. I’ll only slow ya down.”

“No, let me help-”

“Not this time. It’s just my time… Just keep goin’. Don’t look back.”

He smiled weakly. He looked at Davey. “Say hi to my pa if ya ever see him.” Another boulder fell dangerously close to him. “Bye guys…” He barely glanced at Jack. “I love yous.”

The cave started shaking again.

“Jack, we have to go now!” Katherine exclaimed.

The cave began coming down on them.

“Jack!” She cried as everything began falling apart. She would’ve been crushed if Spot hadn’t pulled Katherine out of the way.

He grabbed Sarah and Katherine’s arms and pulled them out of harm's way. “Ya better get a move on, Jack! This place is comin’ down! This way!”

Sarah took one last look at Davey and followed the other two to safety.

Davey stood up despite everything hurting. He put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “We have to go, Jackie. Please…”

Jack was paralyzed. He watched as his little brother put on a strong face and accepted his fate.

“Jack,” Davey said. “We have to go now.”

He didn’t move.

“Jack, please…” He took his hand and squeezed it. “Please…”

Jack finally turned away and let Davey lead him away from the whole scene. They didn’t look back as they swerved through the falling rocks.

The last thing they heard before everything came down was Crutchie’s voice saying:

“Oh fuck-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you guys are all smarties and figured it out already... Because I feel like I made it too obvious. Oops-  
> Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!
> 
> *laughs in angst*


	12. It Doesn't Pay to be A Good Kid, A Good Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of last chapter's angst, but it doesn't get better. Things actually spiral out of control more than it already was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of you are probably upset about that, so sorry about that. (I promise things will get better. Eventually...)  
> And I couldn't wait to post this chapter, so here it is! I didn't want to leave you on that sad note from the last chapter, so I'm gonna leave y'all on this note for a while.
> 
> Now, before you read this chapter, I just have to say: I apologize in advance. And with that said, enjoy this chapter!

Everything was falling apart.

Davey could feel the ground shaking beneath them as he led Jack away from the scene of the incident. The deeper they went into the cavern, the darker it got and harder it was to see what was in front of you.

Davey could already hardly see with the swollen black eye Oscar gave him and tears that stung his eyes. He hadn’t even realized he was crying until he felt the stinging sensation.

He wiped the tears and blood from his face and tried to find Spot and the girls. He could hear their footsteps somewhere up ahead in the pitch-black darkness. He tried to follow the sound without running into anything.

Everything still hurt. He felt his knee throbbing in pain as he ran. It felt like his ribs were prodding at his lungs, and he was running out of breath. His heart thumped quick and hard against his chest. He couldn’t continue like this.

He stopped to catch his breath and looked back at Jack.

Jack was in a daze. It was like he was trying to process what was happening. The expression on his face said it all. His mouth was slightly agape. His eyes were empty. His face had gone pale white, almost ghostly white. It was like his spirit had left his body.

“Jack,” Davey panted. “Jackie, I’m going to need you to…to help me out here.”

No response.

“Jack,” Davey said again.

Still, no reaction.

Davey shook his head and grabbed Jack’s arm to pull him forward. He noticed a small opening up ahead. The others must have managed to get through there to safety.

Davey pulled Jack with him and used the last of his energy to sprint through the opening.

They made it. It was pitch dark that he couldn’t even see Jack anymore. And the opening had just been closed off by the falling wreckage.

Davey slid his hand down to grab Jack’s hand. He squeezed it.

“Jackie…” His voice was hoarse. Just above a whisper. “Jackie, I…I’m so sorry.”

There was still no response. He could hear his breathing still, so at least he knew he was alive.

Davey felt around with his other hand and felt a wall. He leaned against it to give his injured knee a rest. He tried not to let go of Jack’s hand.

Davey turned his head in Jack’s direction. He wished he could see Jack. He wanted to comfort him the way Jack had done for him at least twice in the last day or so. This was the first time he had seen Jack Kelly at a loss for words. He always had some comments or snarky remarks but not this time.

He felt Jack squeeze his hand tightly. It almost hurt. He still said nothing though. They just stood in the dark, holding hands.

Davey stood upright. His knee throbbed again. He shut his eyes tightly in pain.

He found Jack’s shoulder in the darkness and pulled him close. He brought Jack into the tightest hug he could give. Jack hugged back.

He felt Jack’s fingers grasping at the cloth of his shirt, his nails digging into Davey’s back. He buried his face in Davey’s chest and held him tightly.

Then, he cried.

Jack Kelly… cried.

Davey’s hands shook as he gently held him close. He tangled his hand in the shorter boy’s hair and kept him as close as humanly possible. He buried his nose in Jack’s hair and shut his eyes tightly. He could feel Jack’s figure shaking furiously.

The only sounds now were Jack’s crying echoing through the darkness. Davey felt a few tears fall down his face too.

It felt like they were standing there forever. They probably should’ve gone to look for Sarah, Spot, and Katherine, but right now, that was the last thing on Davey’s mind. His mind was too clouded by emotion for him to care about anything else right now. He didn’t care about how much his body ached. He didn’t care that his sister may have bee looking for him. Heck, he didn’t even care about this stupid quest. He cared about this moment and being here for Jack.

It took forever for Jack’s sobbing to fade. He was still shaking. Davey caressed Jack’s hair gently. He couldn’t see it, but he knew his shirt must’ve been wet with his friend’s tears.

“Jackie… I am so… _so_ sorry,” he said just above a whisper.

The shorter boy took in a shaky breath. “Th-this wasn’t supposed to h-happen…” His voice trembled. “Dave, this wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Davey tried to keep his voice steady and gentle. “It’s going to be fine. Remember what he said. Just keep going.” He gently pulled Jack away from him and felt his way from Jack’s hair to his cheek. It was wet with tears. “Jack, I don’t think he would’ve done that if he _didn’t_ think you could do this without him.”

“He was a kid, Dave,” Jack said, letting out another sob. “He was just a kid! And he was my little brother! He had so much ahead of him!” He shook. “I-I coulda helped him… I coulda stopped all of this…”

Davey used his thumb to wipe another tear rolling down his cheek. He wished he could see Jack’s face. He wanted to look him in the eye and say everything would be alright. That there wasn’t anything he could do. That none of it was his fault.

“Jack… I… you tried your best. He didn’t want you to help him. He was a tough little guy and didn’t want you to worry about him. He loved you.” Davey wished his words didn’t sound so hollow. He knew what it was like to have a little brother taken away from him, but in Jack’s case, there wasn’t any way of getting him back.

Jack brought his hand up to touch Davey’s. He sniffed. “I…I know, Dave. But I knew somethin’ bad was comin’… I shoulda known better…” His voice trailed off. “I shoulda known… I-I could feel it…”

Davey shook his head. “It’s not your fault, Jackie.” He blinked back tears and took in a breath. “We…We should find the others soon. Or find a way out of here, at least.” His lips twitched as he tried to smile. “We don’t want to be stuck in the dark forever.”

He got no response from Jack other than a sniff.

“Okay,” Davey muttered, trying to put himself back in the right mindset. “Okay…” He took in a breath. “So, how are we going to get out of here? It’s completely dark, so we can’t tell where we are. And I’m pretty sure the others aren’t here, so we’re on our own here. What are we going to do?”

He was talking to himself more than Jack. He tried to listen for anything that might’ve told him where they were. But he couldn’t hear any people or birds or vehicles that may have indicated they were anywhere near surface level. There were no footsteps, so the others weren’t nearby. He shut his eye tightly and tried to listen for anything that may have been useful.

Then, he heard something. Water. Rushing water somewhere in the distance. That must’ve meant there was a river, and that must’ve meant there was an exit nearby. Was that faulty logic? Maybe a little, but he was desperate.

He grabbed Jack’s hand. “Come on, Jackie. We’re getting out of here.”

He put a hand out in front of him to feel for anything he might run into. His other hand was intertwined with Jack’s. He put one foot in front of the other carefully.

They walked through the pitch-dark cave blindly. Davey was trying his best to follow the sound of the rushing water, but the sound seemed to be coming from so many different directions. He couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

Davey finally sighed in frustration. “Ugh! This is useless! I don’t know where we’re going!”

Jack finally spoke. “Where were you goin’ in the first place?”

“Listen. Do you hear that?” He went quiet. The sound of water was louder this time.

“Yeah,” Jack said skeptically. “What about it?”

“Where there’s a river, there has to be an exit. I just can’t seem to find it…” He sighed again. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m just getting us even more lost than we already are.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then, Jack spoke. He sniffed again. “It’s okay, Dave. Let me help ya.” Davey felt him pull him in another direction.

Davey didn’t question it. But if Jack knew how to find his way around, then he wasn’t going to complain. As long as they got out of there and found the others.

As they walked through the darkness, Davey was a little surprised at how well Jack could navigate his way through the tunnels. Jack pulled him along as though they were still walking through the streets of Santa Fe. There were a few times he had to stop and change directions or bumped into something, but, other than that, it seemed like he knew where they were going.

The sound of rushing water became louder as they neared it. Then, they stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Davey asked.

There was a knocking sound. “No good,” he muttered. “The sound’s comin’ from the other side of this wall.” He was silent in thought for a second. “You got yer sword with ya still?”

Davey felt his eyes go wide. He groaned. “Dammit! I lost it back there in the fight!”

He heard Jack let out a breath of air. “Hey, watch your language child.”

Davey felt something in him become more relaxed at the sound of Jack cracking jokes again. “Okay, okay. So, what are we going to do now? What were you going to do with a sword in the first place?”

“Break through the wall,” Jack replied simply. “Not my best idea, but we’re workin’ with what we got, Fish Boy.”

“Are you ever going to stop with those nicknames?”

“No.”

Jack knocked on the wall again. He sighed and muttered something Davey couldn’t quite make out. He heard Jack kick the cave wall and tense up in pain.

“No, maybe _that_ wasn’t your best idea,” Davey said.

“Sure. Trust me, if ya knew me longer, you’d know that ain’t true. I’m full of dumb ideas.”

“I bet.”

Davey smiled a little at the sound of Jack’s voice going back to its usual tone. He heard Jack kick it again and grunt in pain. There was a long silence before Jack snapped his fingers.

“Alright, I got an idea, but yer gonna have to trust me. Do you trust me, Dave?”

Davey nodded. “Yes.”

He felt Jack’s tense up. “And yer gonna have to close yer eyes ‘cause this is might hurt a little.”

Davey cocked an eyebrow. “Please, don’t tell me we’re running into a cave wall while we’re already injured from a battle.”

“Okay, I won’t tell ya. Do ya still trust me, Dave?”

Davey sighed. “Of course, I do. No matter what you’re going to do.”

He felt Jack wrap his arms around him. “Ready?”

Davey closed his eyes. Well, maybe. He couldn’t tell if they were already closed or not. He wrapped his arms around Jack. “Ready.”

“Okay… here we go,” Jack’s voice quivered. He felt Jack drag him forward quickly.

Davey braced for impact, but it never came. He felt numb and kind of cold actually. It was a familiar feeling. He was sure he had felt this before. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. He felt Jack’s body against his but nothing else.

Finally, it felt like they stumbled forward and landed on the ground. Davey let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. A chill went down his spine. He felt Jack let go of him.

“Can I open my eyes now?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Jack said. “Go ahead.”

Davey opened his eyes then shut them immediately. After being in the dark for so long, the light hurt his eyes. “It’s so bright in here.”

“Nah, but at least we can see again.”

It took some time for Davey’s eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the cave, but they eventually did. He looked around and noticed how there were two passages in front of them. Right in front of them was a river that flowed through both passageways. They had two ways to choose from. Right or left.

He looked over to see Jack leaning against the cave wall. His eyes were bloodshot from crying. His hair was even messier than usual, with some of, what Davey presumed to be his own, blood dried up in his hair. His shirt was covered in tear stains. He glanced over at Davey and coughed.

“You got a little somethin’…” He gestured toward in the general direction of Davey’s face. “…there.”

Davey leaned over and looked at his reelection in the river. Gods, he was a mess. His left eye was swollen shut and bruised. Dry blood was splattered all over his t-shirt and face. He had a huge gash on his cheek and bruises painted his chin and forehead.

“Oh yeah,” Davey said. “I guess Oscar really roughed me up, huh? I’ll have to return the favor when I see him again.”

Jack let out a strained laugh. “You kiddin’? Did ya see how bad _you_ roughed _him_ up? Ya literally stabbed the guy in the stomach. Not gonna lie, that was pretty hardcore, Dave.”

“Not enough apparently.” Davey felt his heart sink and shook his head. He turned to Jack. “Jack, I’m sorry about what happened back there.”

Jack looked down. “I…I’d rather not talk ‘bout it right now.”

Davey nodded. “Right. Sorry.”

They remained in awkward silence until Jack came and sat next to Davey. He sat cross-legged.

“So…you wanna clean that up a little or… or what?”

Davey nodded. “Huh? Oh, yeah.”

For once in his life, he as thankful to be the son of Neptune. This was probably the only power he actually used and wasn’t afraid to use. He shakily cleaned his face with the water from the river. It didn’t take long for his scratches and bruises to lessen. They left marks but thankfully the water was able to heal him enough and clean the dry blood off his face. He stood up and sighed.

“Better?” Jack asked from his place on the floor.

“Much better.” He helped Jack to his feet. “Now, where do we go?”

Jack shrugged. “Pssh, I dunno.”

Davey gave him a look. “You were just leading the way right now. How do you not know where to go?”

“Lucky guess?” Jack shrugged again. “’Sides, this is your quest. You choose.”

“I don’t know where to go. You choose.”

“Davey,” Jack put an arm around his shoulder. “Davey. Ya gotta learn to think for yourself.”

Davey furrowed his eyebrows. “I think for myself.”

“Do ya? ‘Cause seems like you’ve been following Spot ‘n Kath’s lead the whole time, but now’s yer time. Choose.”

Davey sighed. He looked from the left to the right. He noticed which way the river was flowing. “Left.”

“Nah, I say right.”

“Jack!”

“I’m kiddin’. Let’s head that way then.”

They walked side-by-side. They were so close Davey could feel Jack’s hand brush against his every once and a while. It isn’t long before Jack reached out and grabbed Davey’s hand. They walk hand-in-hand down the dim tunnel.

They walked for what seems like hours in silence, and after a while, Davey’s injured knee started aching again. He developed a bit of a limp as they walked.

Every once and a while, he would glance over at Jack to see him deep in thought. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked off into seemingly nowhere. Davey finally decided to ask him what he was thinking about. He figured it was probably what Davey was thinking about…

“Jack, are you okay?”

Jack let out a puff of air through his nose. “Just fine.”

“Jackie, if you need to talk about-”

“Please,” Jack practically snapped. “Please, don’t say his name.” He bit his bottom lip and looked away from Davey.

Davey nodded. “Okay, but if you need to talk about it, just know I’m here for you.”

“I just- Oh gods! Look out!” He stopped and pulled Davey backward.

They stumbled back. Davey fell back and felt himself blush when he saw he was on Jack’s lap. He hopped off immediately and was about to get ask him why he pulled him back when he saw it. 

In front as them was what looked to be a cliff. The river flowed straight down into it. Davey looked down into it but couldn’t see the bottom.

He took in a breath. “Thanks,” he breathed out.

“Don’t mention it. But what the hell is this?”

Davey looked down to try to see the bottom or at least hear where the water it the bottom. But he couldn’t see or hear anything. It looked seemed bottomless.

“I think, and this is just off the top of my head, but I think it’s a cliff.”

Jack scooted over and looked down too. “Gee, thanks, Dave. Never woulda figured that out on my own.” He turned to him. “I meant, where does it go?”

Davey shrugged. “My best guess is somewhere we shouldn’t be. Come on, Jackie. Let’s get out of here.”

“Hold on.” Jack grabbed a stray rock and dropped it into the abyss.

They both listened carefully. They never heard it the bottom, even after a few minutes.

Davey crossed his arms as he looked out into the darkness. “You don’t think this leads to the Underworld or Tartarus, do you?”

Jack stood up. “Well, that or it’s just a really, really, _really_ tall cliff. But hey, what do I know?”

Davey nodded. “Well, I guess you were right after all. Let’s go back.”

Jack groaned. “Ugh, but we’ve been walkin’ for hours! Let’s take a little break.”

“Okay, one: I doubt it’s been hours. Two: you want to rest next to this ominous abyss?”

Jack sat down and leaned against the wall. “Yes. And do ya even know how long it’s been? Coulda been hours.”

“I highly doubt that.” He sat down next to Jack anyway. They were a good distance away from the abyss, but Davey still felt very uneasy about this.

Davey was kind of glad for the break though. His leg felt like it was about to fall off. He looked over at Jack. Jack was sitting with his knees pulled up to him, and his head resting on them. He looked like a little kid who had just been put in time-out.

“Jack,” Davey tried again, “if you want to talk about it, you know I’m here for you. But I won’t keep asking if you don’t feel like talking about it. I just figured it might help you feel better if you knew someone was there for you. Like you’ve been there for me…”

Jack glanced over at him with the hint of a smile. “Thanks, Dave.” He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He sighed. “I… I just… this all coulda been avoided.”

“We didn’t know that would happen, Jackie.”

Jack grasped at the cloth of his jeans. He tensed up. “No, y- we didn’t. We was real close, Dave.” He moved his hand to the floor and traced over the dirt with his index finger. “I wish I woulda listened to my head and tried harder to get Spot to listen to me. I coulda protected him. I coulda stopped all of this. I coulda… I coulda just…” Davey noticed a tear escape his eye. “This is all my fault, Davey.” He let out a sob and buried his head in his knees.

Davey scooted closer to him. He put an arm around Jack. “Hey,” Davey said in a gentle voice, “none of this is your fault. You didn’t know any of this would happen.” He felt his chest tighten. “Jack, if anything, this is my fault. This whole thing.”

Jack looked up at him. His eyes had a look Davey couldn’t quite recognize. “Davey… you don’t- It really ain’t.”

“Jackie, you’re completely innocent here. I-”

“No!”

He stood up and grasped at his hair. Davey flinched at Jack’s sudden outburst.

He felt a chill travel down his spine. It was like the temperature had dropped dramatically. Davey stood up and rubbed his arms to try to keep them warm. He watched as Jack paced back and forth.

Jack continued in a shaky voice. “I knew he was gonna get hurt on this stupid quest! I knew someone was gonna end up dead!” He pulled at his hair and stomped his foot on the ground like a kid throwing a tantrum. “And it’s ‘cause of me!”

Davey grabbed Jack’s shoulder. His whole body was shaking. “Ja-”

“Why can’t I ever do anything useful?!” He was screaming now. “Why am I so… so bad?! I can never do anything right!” His voice echoed off the walls and traveled through the tunnel. He took in a shaky breath. “And now ‘cause of me, he’s dead! Crutchie’s dead! And I-I felt it! I can still feel it!” He let out something that sounded like am animal being strangled. “The kid’s poor soul is bein’ judged right now as we speak!” He screamed again.

Davey didn’t know half the things Jack was saying. He had never seen him, or anyone for that matter, act like this. He must’ve been holding whatever this was in for a long time though. “Jackie, calm down!” He made Jack face him and stared him straight in the eyes. “Slow down. What are you talking about? I can hardly understand you.”

Jack stared at him. His eyes had this sort of unhinged look. It seemed like something inside him snapped. It was starting to scare Davey.

Jack grabbed Davey’s shoulders. His fingers dug into his skin. It was starting to hurt. “Davey!” He screamed his name as if he hadn’t been there this whole time.

“Davey!” He repeated. “Oh gods, I don’t want to want the same thing happenin’ to you!” He moved one of his hands from Davey’s shoulder to his face. He cupped Davey’s cheek like he had never felt human skin. His nail dug into Davey’s flesh.

Davey was starting to shake. “Jackie, please let go. You’re hurting me.”

Jack seemed to realize what he was doing and withdrew his hands from Davey. He took a few steps away. The deranged look never left his eyes, but the expression on his face was one of pain. It reminded Davey of a rabid animal getting ready to pounce.

“Davey,” Jack said. “Davey. Davey. Davey!”

“I’m right here, Jack. Stop screaming,” he said trying to calm whatever beast had taken over his friend. “Calm down. You’re freaking me out a little. Just calm down.” He took a few steps back. 

“Don’t leave me! I don’t want you leavin’ me too! I don’t want ya gettin’ hurt too! Why do I always hurt people?” His voice sounded o the verge of tears. He bit his bottom lip. Blood soon began dripping from his lips. He brought his hands up to his ears and covered them. He shut his eyes tightly. Davey noticed his entire body quake.

Then, he stopped.

His eyes snapped open and stared directly at him. “Davey! Davey! I got an idea that’s gonna solve everything!”

“That’s good, Jack,” Davey said in a voice he’d use when dealing with a wild animal. “What is it?”

“Help me take down the gods!”

There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence. Davey didn’t think he heard that quite right.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Jack took a step forward. “Davey, somethin’ about you just- just I’ve never felt so… ya do somethin’ to me, David Jacobs. Somethin’ no one else has ever made me feel, and I know you feel the same way.”

Davey felt something in his chest swell up but it was overridden by fear and confusion. Jack took another step forward, so he took a step back.

“And I know you don’t wanna fight, and I don’t wanna fight either,” he continued. “I also know ya hate yer dad. Well, I hate my parents too! So, let’s take ‘em down together!” He brought down his fist into his other hand to show emphasis. “No one’s gotta get hurt! And no one’s gotta die! Well, maybe the gods, but that’s a small price to pay, ain’t it?”

“Jack, what are you talking about?”

“Davey, yer smart. You shoulda figured it out by now.” He pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal a small scythe shaped mark just under his collarbone.

Davey froze. He covered his mouth with his hand. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

“Come on, Davey. Help me out here,” his voice had lowered to his normal speaking voice, but it was still shaking. “We don’t have to fight. It don’t gotta end that way. You can change it.” He took a few more steps toward Davey.

Davey backed up until he felt his leg slip. Behind him was the endless abyss. He was cornered. “Jackie, please,” he begged. “You’re scaring me. I don’t understand. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Y-you don’t have to hurt anyone! And why would I fight you?”

Jack lunged at him. He held Davey by the collar of his shirt. Davey looked below him into empty nothingness. He looked back up at Jack.

For a moment, fear was present in his dark eyes. The kind of fear you'd usually see in a child's eyes. The kind of fear Davey had only seen one other pair of eyes. No, not a different pair of eyes. The _same_ eyes.

Finally, it hit him. Davey shook his head. He didn’t want to believe it.

“It’s you… you’re him.” He looked Jack up and down in disbelief. “All this time… all this time we thought we were chasing some scared kid, but it was just you. You’re-”

“-The Prince of the Underworld.”

He smirked but not his usual playful smirk. He let out a strained laugh. “I can’t believe ya didn’t figure it out sooner.”

“But… but I trusted you. I thought we were friends!”

A look of hurt crossed Jack’s face. Davey couldn’t tell if it was real or not. “Ouch, Dave. That hurt. So, I’m gonna take that as a no?” He shook his head. “Shame. Well, I can’t let ya go now. Ya know too much.”

He loosened his grip. “I like ya, David. I really do, but I don’t got family lookin’ out for me. So, I gotta look out for myself.” He winked. “Say hi to my folks for me.”

He let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! A twist! I bet you didn't see that coming, huh? Or maybe you did! I don't know how well I set this up!  
> I hope I planted the seeds in there well because if not, oops. Chapter 9 and 11 are the ones I tried to put the most hints.  
> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'll see you next chapter guys, gals, and non-binary pals!


	13. The Prince of the Underworld

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a different perspective on this whole issue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, to leave y'all on a cliffhanger (literally). But here's another chapter to kind of ease the pain of the last two chapters. (I promise things will get better...probably...)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

He took in a sharp breath.

“No…” His voice was hardly audible. “N-no…”

He fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. Tears rolled down the demigod’s face as he listened to the sound of screaming growing fainter and fainter the further his friend fell into the endless abyss.

He did not just do that. He did not just do that. He did _not_ just do that!

What was he thinking?! He lost Crutchie… he couldn’t lose Davey too!

Jack looked out into the darkness. “Davey!” He let out a cry as loud as his voice would allow. He held his throat in pain and listened carefully.

Nothing.

Davey’s screams went silent. The only sounds that filled the air were his shallow breaths and the rushing water. Jack shook his head slowly.

He couldn’t just let Davey fall to his death. No, he had to help him. He had to do something. Jack stood up slowly.

He was going in after him. He couldn’t let Davey face literal Hell by himself. He wouldn’t survive.

Jack took in a deep breath as he let himself get ready to throw his body into darkness. Then, he was stopped. He was stopped by an all too familiar voice that had been haunting him for… for he couldn’t remember how long. A year? Maybe two?

_Stop._

The deep, raspy voice filled his ears and sent a chill down his spine. He physically covered his ears as if that would help.

_Do not jump, Francis._

Jack balled his hands into fists. “Don’t… I told yous not to call me that,” he breathed. “’Sides…I ain’t just gonna let him die.”

_Does it sound like he survived that fall?_

His nails dug into his palms. “N-no…”

_Then, it doesn’t matter now._

The voice spoke slowly as though it were explaining something to a young child.

_Now that the son of Neptune is out of the way, we won’t have to worry about him getting in the way of anything else._

“But-”

_SILENCE!_

Jack stumbled a few steps back.

_What did that demigod do other than weaken you? You were fine with this until you met him! There is no turning back now. He’s gone. We can finally put the plan into action._

“What about the others? Spot and Kath and Sarah…?”

_Leave them. The Roman and Greeks are no threat to us. They’ll simply wander aimlessly until it’ll be too late to stop us._

Jack’s hands trembled as he stared out into the darkness. He could still see the look of fear in Davey’s eyes as he let go. “Gods… I-I didn’t wanna hurt anyone… anyone I cared about.”

_When are you going to learn, Francis? You’ve seen it time and time again. It doesn’t matter how much you care about someone because they will **never** return your affection. _

_When have they ever? Your mother and father abandoned you, your brother neglects you, and now the son of Neptune has used you. Did you actually think he was going to stick around after he found out who you were? He was going to dispose of you, leave you! Just like everyone else in your life…_

Jack shook. He wiped the tears from his eyes.

Davey wouldn’t have done that, would he? He didn’t seem too keen on fighting the son of Hades… but that was only because he thought it was a little kid. If Jack had told him anything sooner, would he have turned on him right then and there?

The voice went silent.

Jack had to gather himself for a second. Try to get his thoughts in order. Rethink if everything he was doing was the right thing to do.

He had to be in the right… right? All the friends he had talked to agreed to help him. If that many people sided with him, he had to be doing something good.

Yeah, that’s it. This had to be something good. Something that would benefit all the demigods!

The gods weren’t good people! They hurt others. They caused trouble for mortals and demigods alike. The best thing to do was to take them down and make sure they can never hurt anyone again.

He took in a deep breath.

Yeah… yeah, he was totally doing the right thing here. Totally. Yeah.

His hands slowly stopped shaking. He turned and walked away from the scene of the crime. He walked into a darker area of the cave and closed his eyes. He shadow traveled away.

He meant to transport himself out of the cave and above ground to meet the others, but his mind was too clouded. His mind went to hundreds of different places, but none of them was the place he needed to be. In fact, he ended up in one of the last places he wanted to be.

He leaned against something and opened his eyes. His heart began racing in his chest.

Gods, this place always gave him chills.

It was his old childhood home. It hurt to be here, even when they here earlier that day. He tried not to show how much it bothered him in front of Davey, but it stung. It really did. Especially since he had some actual _fond_ memories of his very early childhood.

He was standing in the remains of his old room. He looked out the window to see it was already dark out. There wasn’t much time left. He had to get to New York, and he had to get there quickly.

But something stopped him. Maybe it was the nostalgia. Maybe it was him just being weak again. But he couldn’t help it. He wanted just wanted to stay there.

He wanted to stay there forever and never leave. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. He wanted to cry until he fell asleep and woke up and saw that everything was just a child’s nightmare. He wanted to wake up in his bed as a scared little kid, and then his mom would rush over to him and pick him up in her arms to tell him that it was all just his imagination. He wanted that more than anything right now.

But, of course, this was all real. It was all very real.

He sank to the floor and hugged his knees close to him. Then, he did the only thing he could think to do. He cried. He didn’t think he had anything left in him after… after earlier, but, apparently, he still had plenty of tears left.

He let tears run down his face and sobs echo through the empty house. It all just came out. It was all too much to handle. And he had no one. He didn’t have anyone to turn to now. He either lost them or pushed them away.

Gods, what was wrong with him?

This wasn’t him. He wasn’t a bad person. He didn’t want anyone else hurt. He lost his parents, he lost his friends, he lost his brother, and now Davey.

_You falter, son of Hades._

Jack stopped. He wiped the tears from his eyes. “This… this ain’t right. I’s hurting people. This ain’t what I wanted.” He shivered.

_A few fatalities are a small price to pay to bring save hundreds more._

“I… but-”

_You must not have second thoughts about this. What’s done is done. There is no turning back now. You cannot save those you have lost already, but you can avenge them. Think about it: David Jacobs resented his father and the one you called your brother never even met his father. You would be doing them a favor by getting rid of their parents._

Jack nodded. “Hey… Hey, yeah. That’s true.”

_And that other one you call a brother? He doesn’t care about you, but you would be doing him a favor getting rid of that embarrassment he calls a father. The daughter of Athena? Never met her mother. Once they see the results, they’ll be thanking you for what you’ve done._

“Yeah…yeah!” He stood up. “And Racer and Al and Skittery and all the others! Their folks don’t care. They… they left ‘em on their own.” His fingers curled around the cloth of his sweater. “We’re doin’ somethin’ that’ll help everyone!” His breathing steadied.

He looked over to the part of the room he and Davey stood not too long ago. “D-Dave… Davey…” His lips twitched. “Don’t worry… I’m gonna make things right.” He reached out to touch someone that wasn’t there. “Your pa won’t be a problem soon. None of the gods will be… Just you wait…”

_There you go. Now that David Jacobs is out of the way, **you** are unmatched as the most powerful demigod. And you won’t have him to distract you or weaken you anymore. _

Jack nodded slowly. “You’s right. I am powerful. I got the power of Hades-” He reached toward a dark corner and solidified the shadow into a long, thin sword. “-And Persephone.” He pointed the sword at the ground, causing the spot he was pointing at to sprout thorny vines. “Pretty good if I do say so myself. I mean, what other demigod’s got this kinda power?”

“No one other than you, son of Hades,” another voice said.

Jack spun around to face the door. He was met face to face with the Furies he saw earlier. All three of them this time.

The woman standing right in the doorway took a step forward. “We had a feeling it was you,” the older looking woman said. Her expression was cold and serious. “But we couldn’t believe it until we saw it ourselves.” The two other Furies stepped into the room, blocking the doorway. “The Lord of the Underworld would like to have a word with you.”

Jack took in a deep breath. “Oh, he wants to talk? Now?” Jack brought up his shadow sword. “He had plenty of time for that. It’s too late now.”

The lady glared daggers at him. “We’ve been searching for you for years. You’re coming with us, even if we have to use brute force to do it.”

_Attack._

“Then, I guess we’s gonna have to fight, huh?”

Then, all three of them began growing wings and claws and transformed into their monstrous forms. They lunged at him at the same time.

Jack just let out a breath and managed to knock all three back with his sword. The one on the left got up and dug her claws into his arm.

Jack gasped in pain and threw her off. She landed right in front of him. He stepped on her back and raised his sword. The other two came at him and grabbed him by his arms. He struggled to get them off as the third one grabbed his legs.

“We have you now, son of Hades,” the one holding his left arm said. “There’s no escaping this time.”

He grunted as he struggled to free himself. He looked down and noticed the vines on the ground. He smirked as an idea popped into his head. He glanced at the small, thorny plant, and it grew in an instant. It wrapped itself around the Furies holding his arms and yanked them to the ground.

The ones holding his arms let go and he swung at the third one. In one quick slash, she turned to dust.

Jack closed his eyes and tried to focus on the ground.

He heard the other two Furies screeching and clawing at the vine to escape. Jack heard the snap of his plant and smiled. Perfect.

He turned to them and managed to swing at them enough to keep them at a distance.

Then, the ground shook.

A small crack began to form. It grew bigger and bigger until it eventually took up half the room.

Jack grinned as he struck the final blow.

He waved his hand in the direction of a dark corner. Small bolts of what looked like a bolt of dark lightning shot out and knocked one of the Furies into the giant hole in the ground. Jack pointed at the ground and another vine grew. It wrapped around the final monster and dragged it down into the chasm.

Jack took in a deep breath and brought his hands together to close the ground. It closed, encasing the creatures within it.

He felt his lips twist into something of a smile and looked down at his hands as if he didn’t know he could do that. “This is gonna be too easy.”

_Now, return to New York. The final battle is nearing, and you need to commence the plan._

“You got it, Kronos. Ain’t no one gonna stop us.”

_That’s right. Now, you just have to do as I say. Soon we will be unstoppable, Francis Sullivan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give a little insight into Jack's perspective because I felt like he deserved it. My poor boy's not really all there...  
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


	14. Six Feet Under the Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demigod falls to hell and almost gets killed by the king of the underworld himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! Another chapter! This one's a little late, but it's here now! Nothing much to say except this one's a little less angsty than the last two chapters! Enjoy!

A numbness filled him.

Davey’s eyes darted everywhere despite hardly being able to see anything. His heart pounded against his rib cage. His throat felt like it was being ripped in half from his screaming. He took in a deep breath and stopped screaming as he continued to fall into the empty void of nothingness.

His eyes landed on the waterfall next to him. It was the only thing he could see. He reached out to touch it.

He silently prayed to his father for his powers to work at that instance. Gods, he needed this right now. Oh dear, Neptune, he did not want this to be the way he dies.

He felt the cool water between his fingers. “Please,” he breathed out. “Please… Please… Please, let this work…” He shut his eyes tightly as he tried to focus on bending the water to do what he was thinking. It was hard to focus when he was practically falling to his death though.

Finally, he felt his fall begin to slow down until he stopped. He was dead, wasn’t he? Of course, he was. Why would his powers start working when he needed them?

He opened his eyes slowly and looked down. There was a feeling of gratefulness and relief that filled his chest. The river had created an extension under him. It was a small platform that was holding him up made completely of water. It was still descending but at a much slower pace. He would’ve been proud of himself for being able to do such a thing, but everything was too overwhelming at that moment.

He let out a breath of relief. His relief quickly became a hysterical laugh. And that soon transformed into tears. He couldn’t quite let out a sob though because his throat was still in pain.

“Davey!”

Jack’s voice called out to him.

Davey covered his mouth to stop any sound from escaping. He couldn’t let Jack know he was there.

What would he do if he knew Davey was still there? Was he checking to see if Davey was dead? He didn’t want to risk it. Davey was pretty sure he’d kill him right then and there if given the chance.

He listened carefully, but Jack didn’t call out to him again.

Of course, he didn’t. He didn’t care… He only cared that Davey was gone. And with Sarah, Katherine, and Spot out of the way… Oh gods…

Davey looked down. Tears fell from his face and into the water below him.

Jack lied to him… No… He lied to everyone. He lied about everything. Their friendship… any connection they might have had was just some cover-up. Was anything he told him even real?!

_“You’re my friend. And with that, I’m gonna make sure you ain’t alone.”_

_“I know we’re gonna get through this.”_

_“I ain’t lettin’ ya do this alone.”_

Davey grit his teeth. He balled his hands into fists. Something of a growl was forming in the back of his throat. A tight feeling began forming in his chest. He pulled at his hair.

How could he let this happen?! He was always on his guard! He always tried to be vigilant! How did he not see this coming! And now he was falling into hell with no idea where he was and possibly no way out!

He slammed his fists down, pulling some hair out. His breathing came out quick and shallow.

“Dammit…” He muttered. “Dammit… Dammit… Dammit!” He grunted as he slammed his fists down again. He grunted in frustration. Tears were still spilling from his eyes.

He tried to calm his breathing and clear his head. He couldn’t focus on that now. No matter how much it stung or how much of an out of body experience it felt like. He took in a deep breath and looked around.

Nothing. He was surrounded by nothing but darkness. The only sounds he could hear were the flow of water and a ringing in his ears.

Well, this river had to lead somewhere, right? He’d have to eventually land on something, whether it be Tartarus or the Underworld.

Suddenly, he felt his platform disappear beneath him, and he began falling again.

He couldn’t handle it anymore. He was getting dizzy. Everything was spinning, and he could hardly breathe.

One last breath escaped him before he gave in and let himself fall.

-

Davey was right.

He eventually did hit something.

He crashed face-first into a body of water. That managed to snap out of whatever trance he was in before. He opened his eyes and looked up.

Light.

A dim light but still.

His eyes darted around until it landed on what looked like a wall made of rock. He swam over and held on tightly.

He took in a deep breath (being the son of the sea god had its perks) and tried to take in his surroundings.

He was in some sort of lake that looked to be manmade. His fingers gripped the rough surface. He looked up at the opening and did a doubletake because he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Davey’s breath got caught in his throat.

A tall, dark figure was looming over the water. Davey couldn’t quite make out any features, but, for a second… for a moment, his chest swelled with hope.

“Jack,” he whispered.

He swam upward. He poked his head out of the water and held onto the rough surface. Gods, it felt good to be on land again.

Davey looked around and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

This… is not how he envisioned the Underworld. Or Tartarus for that matter.

Everything was bright and colorful. There were trees and flowers scattered everywhere. There was a large white marble bench near a bush of beautiful blue flowers. He even noticed that there were marble pillars with a matching fountain. It was all gorgeous. It kind of reminded Davey of those gardens he saw online and was sure could never actually exist. Yet… here he was.

Davey groaned and held his head. Everything was still spinning.

“Hey there, bud. Grab on.”

Davey forgot there was someone else. But the voice didn’t sound familiar at all.

He looked up to see a tall man holding a golden rod out for him to grab onto. And when he said tall, he meant _tall_.

Davey was pretty tall himself, standing at 6’2. Well, 6’3 if he didn’t slouch so much. This man though… he had to be at least eight feet tall.

He was towering over Davey. He had familiar bright blue eyes. His hair was a mess of light brown curls. A headband with what looked like wings was on the sides was holding his hair back. He had this crooked smile on his face that had a mischievous look to it. He was wearing a tank top with grey shorts that were just above his knees.

He wiggled the rod in front of Davey’s face. “Come on. Come on! You can’t stay in there all day,” the man said.

“O-oh, right!” Davey stuttered as he grabbed on. He was pulled out of what looked like a well. He stood up and wrung out his shirt. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome, kid. But ya know, the big guy don’t like many people in his wife’s garden.” He tapped his rod on the ground.

Davey looked up… Wow, is this what Spot felt like all the time?

He shook his head. “Oh, um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“Are you dead?”

Davey flinched. “Uh… excuse me, s-sir?”

The man leaned over and looked him over. Then, he suddenly had his hands Davey’s face. It wasn’t in a threatening way though. He was just squishing his cheek and pinching him.

“Hmm,” the man hummed. His eyes were scanning Davey like he’d never seen a human before. “So, are you dead, or are you just a white boy? I can’t really tell these days. Both are pale. But that still raises, like, a bunch of questions.”

“I-”

“Like… if you’re a spirit, how did ya get into the garden? Wait, that would apply to both… Hmm.” He pulled at Davey’s hair lightly. “Well, I guess you are alive. Can’t really touch a ghost, am I right?” He laughed.

Davey was confused. He didn’t know where he was or who this man was. Ugh, all this confusion was really getting on Davey’s nerves. “I-”

“Oh, wait! You must be a demigod! That would explain why yer so fleshy for a ghost! And ya can’t just be a normal mortal because they’d be dead down here in seconds by just breathin’ in the air!”

“Wait,” Davey finally interrupted, “where am I exactly?”

“The Underworld, duh.”

Davey crossed his arms. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for a place the dead live.”

“Well, like I said before, the big guy don’t like people bein’ in here. Heck, I ain’t even supposed to be here! It’s only supposed to be him and his close family. Ya know… wife, kid, people like that.”

Davey felt his heart almost stop. He already knew who this man was talking about, but his mouth let the words escape anyway. “Who are you talking about?”

The man laughed. “Hades! King of the Underworld! Come on, kid. You can’t be that-” He locked eyes with Davey and stopped. A look of realization crossed his face.

“Wait… you’re Poseidon’s kid, ain’t ya?”

“Neptune. My dad is Neptune.”

The man ignored him. He facepalmed. “Ugh! I should’ve figured it out sooner! You look so much like him! Except shorter… and paler… and with curlier hair…” He cleared his throat. “But I recognize those eyes! They’re just as green and angry as your dad’s!” He smiled.

Davey grunted. “N-no, they’re not!”

He was ignored again. “Anyway, we should probably get out of here. Come on, I’ll sneak you out before-”

“What are you doing here?!” A deep voice boomed.

“Oops, too late.” He spun around and shoved Davey behind him. “Stay behind me if you don’t want to die,” he whispered.

The man cleared his throat and put on a wide smile. His tone was friendly and had a sort of fear to it. “Hades! H-how’s my favorite king of the Underworld doin’?”

Some footsteps came close and stopped right in front of the man.

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Davey felt a chill. And with his clothes soaking wet, he was starting to freeze. He stayed behind the man like he was told.

There was a sigh from the other voice. “Hermes,” he said. Davey could hear the annoyance. “I’m the only king of the Underworld.”

“Nuh-uh! There’s also Pluto!”

“That’s also me.” He paused. “You do understand I saw you shove something behind your back, right?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking-”

The other was shoved to the ground. Davey felt his whole body shake. He stared up at the intimidating god looming over him.

He was face to face with one of The Big Three gods for the first time… and just to add insult to injury, this was Jack’s father. And to add just another swift kick in the ribs, he looked just like Jack. Well, if Jack dressed formally and was a ten-foot-tall god.

He had pale skin and a somewhat muscular build. His hair was long and black and slicked back with a few hairs out of place here and there. He was wearing a business type of suit with a tie undone and slung over his shoulders. And his eyes… they were just like Jack’s. Dark to the point of being almost pure black.

The taller man glared down at Davey. “What do you think you’re doing here?” His voice was deep and ominous.

Davey opened his mouth, but no words came out. The other god, Hermes, spoke.

“Hades, remember that prophecy?”

The god’s eyes were still locked on Davey. “Yes,” he said slowly. “I’m fully aware of it.”

Hermes cleared his throat. He put a hand on Davey’s shoulder. “Well, this one’s Poseidon’s kid. Err- I guess, Neptune’s kid in this case.”

Davey nodded. He smiled nervously.

Hades stood up straight. He towered over both Hermes and Davey. A look of amusement crossed his face. “This is him?” He scanned Davey up and down. “Not much of a warrior type, are you?”

Davey’s shoulders tensed. He opened his mouth to speak, but this time the god interrupted him.

Hades waved a dismissive hand. “Pathetic. Now, back to the matter at hand.”

Davey was lifted off the ground. The god had him by the collar of his shirt, dangling him just above the ground. His eyes had a sort of red glow. “You didn’t think I’d let you off without punishment, did you? You’re trespassing on my private property.” He practically growled.

Davey stammered. “I…I…” He had to think quickly. What would get him out of this situation? “I know your son,” he blurted out.

He felt his grip loosen. He stared at Davey. The god’s dark eyes wandered Davey’s face like he was looking for a sign of him lying. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”

“Y-your son,” Davey said quickly. He took in a deep breath “I know him…”

Hades shook his head. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not! I-I swear! I-” He reached into his pocket and pulled the drawing out. It was all wet now, but hopefully, it wasn’t too damaged. “Look! This is his right!” He held out the folded-up paper.

Hades took the paper and dropped Davey. Davey watched as he unfolded the paper. He noticed how the god’s hands shook. His eyes grew wide.

Hermes came up behind the god of the Underworld. “What’s that?” He whispered.

Hades smacked him away. He glared at Davey. “Where did you get this drawing?”

“Y-your son,” Davey tried to steady his voice. “There was this old house- in Santa Fe. We went there, and I found it in a drawer. He didn’t tell me he was your son until it was too late… His name is Jack. Jack Kelly, right?” Davey bit the inside of his cheek and looked down.

He folded the paper back up and placed it in his pocket. He looked lost in thought. It was almost like he forgot there were two other people in the room with him. A glint of what looked like sadness appeared in his eyes. “He changed his name… His entire identity…” He mumbled to himself and shook his head. “He left no trace of his old one behind. No wonder it seemed like he disappeared off the face of the Earth.” He paused for a moment. “Francis…” He turned his attention back to Davey.

“Francis?” Davey asked. He tilted his head.

“Yes, Francis Sullivan. That’s his given name,” Hades explained. “Not that Jack Kelly.” He tapped his chin. “Though I suppose it makes sense he’d change his name after… well, everything that occurred in his childhood.”

Davey felt his chest tighten. His name wasn’t even real?! Was Jack just lying about everything?! Nothing he told him was real, was it…?

He looked up and saw the god shift his weight. It had the same look of discomfort that Jack had when Davey suggested asking the Furies for help. Davey never thought he’d see a god look so nervous.

The way they were portrayed was so divine and emotionless that Davey never thought he’d see a god look so worried. Yet… here he was.

Hades cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders back. “Go,” he finally said.

“What?” Davey asked.

“Go,” Hade repeated. “Get out of here.” He turned to the other god. “Hermes, would you mind escorting this young man out of here?”

Hermes made a salute. “Yes, sir.”

Davey balled his hands into fists. “Wait, where are you sending me?”

“Away from here,” the death god replied. “I don’t want you or your petty lies in my sight.”

“Lies?” Davey said through clenched teeth. “I tell you I know who your son is, and you think I’m lying.”

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Hermes had a serious expression. “I wouldn’t talk back if I were you,” he whispered.

Davey pulled himself from the messenger god’s grasp. “No,” he snapped. His mind was clouded with so many emotions. “No, this is not the end of this conversation!”

Hades glared at him. “Young man, you are in no position to be making statements like that. Now, run along with Hermes before I change my mind on punishing you.”

Davey’s fingernails dug into the palm of his hands. “My sister and I have traveled hundreds of miles after _your_ son to try to stop the end of the world! But you know what? If the world ends it’ not my fault, it’s _your_ son’s fault!”

He wasn’t sure what he was hoping to get out of yelling at a god, but he was too far in to stop now. He just had too many emotions clouding his mind to make good decisions right now.

“It was him who threw me down here in the first place! Because he’s working for Kronos! He’s on the enemy’s side! Jack, Francis, whatever his name is, he’s like this because of you and the other gods! None of you care about your kids! You all just toss us to the side because we mean nothing to beings like you, right? And you know what? We probably wouldn’t even be in this mess if you didn’t just abandon him like some useless plaything! You’re only son!”

He heard water splashing from well he was just pulled from. It was almost sounded like large waves you’d hear on a stormy day.

Davey felt his chest heaving up and down from his heavy breathing. There could hear his heartbeat in ears. He could feel his blood boiling. This wasn’t even his dad, and he was angry at him.

Hades stepped right in front of him. He cast a shadow over Davey. The temperature dropped.

Davey looked over and saw Hermes with his hand covering his mouth. His eyes were wide with shock. That when Davey realized… he may have messed up. He just yelled at the god of the Underworld…

Hades looked down at him silently. His eyes were glowing a light red color.

Davey swallowed nervously. “I’m sorry…” He felt his knees growing weak.

Then, he did something Davey didn’t expect…

He laughed.

Davey looked back at the other god who just shrugged. Hermes looked just as confused as Davey felt.

Hades was laughing so hard he had to take a seat on the bench. He finally calmed down enough to start talking.

“Young man,” he said taking in a breath, “that was certainly something.” He cleared his throat. “That was something.” He smiled.

His cold, intimidating faded slightly. As much as it could with him being the god of the Underworld. He let out a breath. “I needed a good laugh right now.” He rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “You have my attention, son of Neptune. Make it quick though. The Underworld doesn’t run itself.”

Davey didn’t meet his eyes. He wasn’t sure what to say.

What was he supposed to say? Did he want him to say something specific? Gods, this was stressful.

“Well,” Hades said, “I’m waiting.”

Davey decided to just wing it. He cleared his throat. “Uh… um… l-like I said, your son is working with Kronos. He threw me down here to die, I think. But he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. I feel like…” Davey looked down. “I feel like him and a lot of other demigods are doing this because they feel like their parents don’t care about them. They feel alone. They feel like… like they’ll never be recognized by their parents. They’re trying to make a name for themselves.”

Hades swung his foot. He ran a hand through his hair. “I suppose that is understandable. Although I do disagree that _all_ gods are like that, there are more that don’t care than that do care.” He stood up. “And of course, we don’t spend too much time with our children. We do run the universe after all.”

“I guess that’s true…” Davey muttered.

He knelt in front of Davey and put a hand on his shoulder. “Look…” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Uh, name?”

“David.”

“Look, David, let me tell you something.” He glanced over at Hermes. “And you, you already know this. You were there.”

Hermes sat down next to Davey. “Is this- Oh, okay! Continue.”

Hades sighed. “Francis the only demigod I have. He wasn’t exactly supposed to… well, exist. My wife and I weren’t able to hide him from the other gods well enough, so we _had_ to get rid of him. It wasn’t exactly a choice. We had to do it to keep him safe.”

Davey bit the inside of his cheek. He looked down at his feet. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that sir. I don’t think Jack knows that though. Wait, maybe you can tell him! Maybe that’ll stop-”

“I don’t think you understand it, David. Gods _cannot_ interfere with quests or prophecies. The prophecy is already happening as we speak. It won’t be long before you have to face him.”

“There has to be a way out of this though! I don’t want to fight Jack!”

He hadn’t let that sink. He hadn’t even thought about it until the words left his mouth. He’d have to fight Jack. Someone he considered a friend. Someone he… he liked a lot.

He noticed the god’s grip tighten on his shoulder. “Maybe there is.” He released Davey and stood up. “That’s for you to find out.” He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a watch. “Hm, I should be getting back to work.” He glanced over at Davey. “Actually… come with me.” He turned to Hermes.” And you, go warn Olympus of what’s to come. We both know they wouldn’t listen to me.”

Hermes jumped up. “Yes sir! I’m on it!”

Hades gestured for Davey to follow him. Davey followed.

When they left the garden, Davey felt a chill go down his spine as he saw the landscape. The sky was grey and the landscape had shadowy and seemingly desolate. No wonder he built Persephone a garden. This place seemed so, for lack of better words, lifeless. Well, it was the Underworld after all…

The god led him into a building with a long hallway that was dimly lit. The walls had a rocky texture and had a dark grey color to them. It almost reminded Davey of a castle of sorts. They made their way up a flight of stairs and down another hallway.

They were walking so quickly that when they stopped, Davey almost ran into Hades.

Hades opened a door and stepped inside. Davey awkwardly wrung his hands, unsure whether or not to follow.

It wasn’t long before the god found what he was looking for. He turned to Davey and reveal what he was holding.

It was a long, dark sword that had a sort of light purplish glow emitting from it.

Hades inspected it for a second. “Yes, this should do nicely,” he murmured. He held it out to Davey. “Here.”

Davey looked at the sword. “What?”

“Here,” the god repeated.

Davey took the sword. It was a bit heavier than the imperial gold he was used to, but he could probably wield it just fine. “Wait, why are you giving this to me?”

“It’s more of letting you borrow than giving it to you,” Hades responded. “It was supposed to be for Francis when he was old enough, but I think you’ll be able to hold onto it for now. It’s stygian iron, a rare kind of ore. You can kill a titan with this, literally. And I think you might need that sort of help on your side.”

Davey held it up and stared at it. “I-I’m sorry, I can’t accept this. This just doesn’t-”

“Just take it. It’s not every day I hand out weapons to demigods.”

Davey lowered the sword. “Thank you, sir. But I’m not going to be able to use it if I can’t get find my friends or find Jack.”

“Is that all?” The god pulled two small keys out of his pocket. “I can have something that can help with that.”

Davey took it. “Keys?”

“They’re much less powerful versions of my key that can transport people or spirits to the Underworld. Just envision where you want to go and it’ll create a doorway there. The catch is you can only use them once, so make those two keys count.”

Davey nodded. “Thank you so much, Mr. Hades. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

The god shifted his weight. He sighed. “Bring him back, young man. Do what you can to help him.”

Davey’s grip on the keys tightened. “I… I’ll do my best.”

“Then, I bid you farewell, David. I need to get back to work.” The god said nothing else. He turned and left Davey alone.

Davey tucked one of the keys safely in his pocket. He held the sword tightly in his grip.

“Okay…” He sighed. “How do I do this?” He closed his eyes and tried to envision Sarah.

He needed to find her and the other before he could do anything. He wasn’t just going to leave them alone in some dark cavern. He had to find them and tell them.

He had to tell them everything. Gods, he was scared to see Spot’s reaction. He had already lost one brother, and now, he was losing another one. And Katherine probably wouldn’t take the news too well either. After all, they had seemed like really close friends.

Davey’s grip tightened.

He felt the key tingling in his hand. He opened his eyes and saw a new door appear across from where he was standing. It glowed a dim purple glow to it that set it apart from the others.

Davey walked over and put the key in the keyhole. He took in a deep breath.

No more games. This was it. He had to get his friends and find out where Jack was. He had come too far to back down now.

He turned the handle and opened the door.

“I’m getting you back, Jackie. No matter what it takes.”

He stepped through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was kind of hard to write 'cause I didn't know how to write Hades. I eventually decided on trying to write an intimidating yet caring father figure in the end tho.  
> Also, I'm sorry the gods personalities don't quite match up with the ones from the Percy Jackson series, but I wanted to take a few liberties to kind of add my interpretations. So... yeah. I don't know about this chapter, I feel like it came out kinda weird. What do y'all think?
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See ya next chapter guys, gals, and non-binary pals!


	15. New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Davey basically gives the others a little update about what's gonna go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say except that this one's kind of a short chapter! Enjoy!

"Ow! Wait…Dave?!”

It wasn’t long before two arms wrapped around Davey, knocking the air out of him. Davey would’ve hugged back, but his arms were trapped in the tight hug.

He smiled. “Hey, Sarah. I missed you too.”

She finally put him down and punched his arm. “Where have you been?! Where did you come from?! Ugh! We’ve been looking for you two idiots!”

“It’s a long story,” Davey responded with a sigh.

He looked around to see that where they were was dimly lit. There were a few long tunnels but no sign of an exit. Spot and Katherine turned to face them.

“David!” Katherine exclaimed. She sighed with relief. “Oh, thank goodness! We thought you and Jack-”

“Where’s Jack?” Spot interrupted. He looked down. “And where’d ya get the sword?”

“And is that stygian iron?” Katherine asked. She got closer and looked over it. “You know this is stronger than imperial gold and celestial bronze combined, right? It’s super rare and super powerful!”

Davey looked down at his new sword. “Oh…” He scratched the back of his head. “It’s sort of a long story, actually. A long story we don’t have time for.”

Spot didn’t look too fazed. “Jacobs… Where is Jack?” His voice was low, and he spoke through clenched teeth. He paused between each word.

“I told you it’s a long story. I’ll tell you guys when we’re out of here,” Davey replied, his voice tight.

He knew he shouldn’t be talking to Spot that way. He was a son of Mars after all and could hurt him if he wanted. And not to mention, he was also their praetor.

However, after everything he just went through, Spot being angry with him wasn’t exactly the worst thing in the world anymore. He certainly didn’t intimidate him as much as being face to face with the Lord of the Dead himself.

“Dammit, Jacobs! Where is he? What did you do to him?”

“You should be asking what did he to me,” Davey snapped back. He shifted his weight and looked away. “He’s gone.”

“What do you mean he’s gone, David?” Kathrine asked gently. “Did he… he and Crutchie… Oh gods…” She trailed off.

Davey looked up at the three of them. He rolled his shoulders back and sighed. “Look, I’ll explain everything later. We just have to get out of here first.” He pulled out the other key from his pocket.

“You can’t just show up outta nowhere and expect us to follow you, Jacobs.” Spot placed a hand on his hip. “You gotta give us somethin’. What happened?”

Davey took in a breath. “Look, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

He looked him dead in the eyes. “Try me.”

“Okay.” He took a step closer. “Jack was the son of Hades this whole time. And he’s working for Kronos. Oh, and he tried to kill me right now.” He let that sink in.

Spot had an unreadable expression. It looked as though his brain couldn’t process the words that left Davey’s mouth. Katherine, on the other hand, seemed to be connecting a few dots but couldn’t quite wrap her head around the situation.

Sarah spoke. “Ha! I knew something about him seemed off! I knew there was a reason I didn’t like him!"

“Shut up! He’s lying!” Spot snapped.

“Why would I make that up? What reason do I have for making that up?”

Spot hesitated. “I don’t know! I just…” His hands became fists. “I don’t know! But I’ve known Jack since we was kids, and he was never claimed! He woulda said somethin’!”

Davey had never seen Spot so frantic before. He looked like he wanted to strangle someone. Well, more specifically Davey.

Katherine spoke up. “No… No, we wouldn’t have. But it makes sense…” She bit her bottom lip. “That description you gave us back in Santa Fe… isn’t that what Jack looked like he was little?”

“A stupid coincidence,” Spot said, waving a dismissive hand.

“No, it makes sense now,” Katherine said. “This isn’t the first time a demigod’s hidden their identity, and you of all people should know that!”

Spot balled his hands into fists. He said nothing, but the look on his face said he was trying to stop himself from getting too angry. He took in a deep breath.

“What are you talkin’ about? Kathy, he’s been left unclaimed since he was a kid! How could he have hidden that for so long?!” He let out a breath, trying to calm down. “ _Why_ would he hide it?”

Katherine tapped her chin lightly. “Well… I’m not really sure why, but there must be a reason. There must be a reasonable answer to all of this… Do you think Medda knows-”

“Uh, guys,” Sarah said. “I hate to interrupt, but are we just going to- oh, I don’t know- _gloss over the fact that he’s working for the_ _titan king himself_!”

“That ain’t true either,” Spot responded. “He would never-”

“Well, he did!” Davey finally spoke up. “If you don’t believe me, then that’s on you! But he did betray us…” Davey’s grip on the key tightened. He felt tears threaten to fall. “…But I don’t think it’s entirely his fault. I’m going to find a way to get him back. You guys can stay here, but I’m going to try to help him.”

There was a long moment of silence.

Finally, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Then, the arm made its way into a side hug.

“No, _we’re_ going to get him back.”

Davey was surprised when he heard Katherine speaking instead of Sarah. He looked up to see Katherine faintly smiling. “He’s my friend too, so I’m coming too,” she said.

“Me too,” Sarah chimed in. She was on Davey’s other side and slung an arm over his shoulder. “We’re a team, you idiot. I mean, the fate of the world’s kind of at stake here too, so… yeah. We’re backing you up.”

Davey smiled. “Thanks, guys.” He glanced at Spot, who still looked mildly upset.

He grunted. “I’m only gonna come ‘cause I don’t wanna be stuck down here,” he muttered. He cleared his throat. “So, what’s your plan to get outta here, smart guy?”

Davey held up the small, grey key. “With this.”

Katherine took a step away from him and took a look at the key. “Sorry, to break it to you, Davey, but you need a door for a key. And where’d you even get that?”

“Oh, we don’t need to worry about a door,” Davey said. “If you close you close your eyes and envision where you need to go, it’ll work.”

“Where’d you get a key like that from?”

“Jack’s dad.”

Katherine’s eyes widened. “Hades?”

Sarah gave him a look. “When did that happen?”

“As I said, it’s a long story.” Davey sighed. “So, does anyone know where to go?”

Sarah’s eyebrows shot up. “With the way you were talking, I thought you knew what you were doing?”

“Barely,” Davey said. “All I know is that we have to find out where Jack is headed. Does anyone have any ideas?”

“If they wanna take down the gods, they’re goin’ for the place the gods hang out,” Spot said. “They’re goin’ for Olympus.”

“Of course,” Katherine cut in. She snapped her fingers. “The Empire State Building. We have to go to New York and warn the camp before the others can get there.”

Davey nodded. He handed the key to Katherine. “Here, you know New York better than I do. You’ll know where to go.”

Katherine took it slowly. She turned it over in her hand and looked it over carefully. Katherine nodded. “I know just where to go.” She glanced over at Spot.

She closed her eyes and let out a breath.

“Like this is gonna work,” Spot muttered.

Davey and Sarah sent each other a look. A dim light appeared nearby.

A door appeared on a nearby wall. Katherine opened her eyes and stared at it awestruck.

Spot stared wide-eyed. “How about that…”

Katherine looked down at the key and inserted it into the keyhole. She opened the door. “Okay, so we just… go through it?”

“Yup,” Davey replied. “Come on.”

He let Sarah and Katherine go first, then he went, and Spot followed. He closed the door behind them. The door faded away as if it had never been there.

Davey looked around and noticed they were in an alley. They followed Katherine out of the alley into a bustling city full of tall buildings and busy streets. It was dark out, but there were so many lights that it was bright enough to pass as daytime. Davey scanned the area and realized where they were.

Katherine smiled. “Dave, Sarah, welcome to New York. More specifically, Brooklyn.”

“Whoa,” Sarah breathed. She looked around. “It’s huge.”

Spot had his eyes locked on a building across the street. He spoke. “Really, Kath? Kinda the last place I’d wanna be right now.”

“But it’s where we had to go. I know you don’t like our camp, so be thankful we came here first,” she replied.

Spot rolled his eyes. “I guess.” He kicked the ground. “Let’s go.”

Spot and Katherine led Davey and Sarah across the street to an apartment building. Katherine and Spot seemed to be having a conversation with just looks when they got to the door. Finally, Spot sighed and pressed the button next to the door.

A woman’s voice answered. “Hello?”

Spot spoke. “It’s me… and Kath, and a few others. Can we come up?”

There was a buzzing noise.

Spot opened the door to the building. “Get in.”

Katherine, Davey, and Sarah followed Spot through the building up. They went up to the third floor and followed Spot down a narrow hallway. Finally, they stopped in front of a door, and Spot knocked.

The door opened. A woman stood in the doorway. She was tall with dark hair and matching dark brown eyes that had a friendly glint. She was wearing a blue robe with a floral pattern and her hair tied up in a bun like she might’ve been getting ready for bed.

“Well, well, if it isn’t one of my little demigods,” she greeted with a friendly smile. Her eyes moved to Katherine. “Oh, and hello, Kathy! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hi, Medda,” Katherine greeted with a small smile. “We’re here because… well, we could use some help.”

She reached out and lifted Spot’s chin with her index finger. “It sure looks like it. You all look like you were put through the wringer.” She wiped a speck of dirt off Spot’s face. “Where are your brothers, Sean? They said they were heading west with you?”

Davey noticed Sarah holding back a laugh. He gave her a look. She leaned over. “I just never thought we’d hear his real name,” she whispered. “And I never would’ve guessed it was _Sean_.”

Davey punched her lightly.

The lady, Medda, seemed to finally notice them. “Oh, and who are your new friends?”

Spot looked down. “It’s a long story, Ma. Can we come in?”

“Of course!” She exclaimed. “I was just about to make dinner! We can talk about it then.”

She stepped out of the doorway. “Come on in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here she is! The queen herself, Medda! Yay!  
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


	16. Weirdest Dreams 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens, Spot has to explain to his mom that his little brothers are gone, and we get a peek at Camp Half-Blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's gonna be a weird chapter, so hang onto your socks. A bit of backstory, a bit of Medda, a bit more foreshadowing, basically a little of everything. Hope you enjoy!  
> (WARNING: a tiny bit of imagery of blood and death)

Davey was tired.

He hadn’t realized how exhausted his body was until he sat down on something comfortable for the first time in days. Sarah hopped on the couch next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She seemed to be feeling the same way because it looked like she was trying not to fall asleep.

Medda had made them dinner, which was certainly a relief. Davey hadn’t eaten all day and was glad to finally have something in his stomach that wasn’t a feeling of dread.

The conversation was mostly between Spot, Katherine, and Medda. Medda would be asking questions a typical mother would ask a child who just got back from a regular day of school. It was either “Fine” or “Yeah”.

It was odd seeing Spot in a normal household setting. And hearing him referred to as anything other than Spot. He knew Spot was adopted, but he and Medda acted as though she was his actual mother. It was kind of weird actually. Davey just assumed Spot was raised a pack of wild animals.

Katherine seemed really good with Medda too. She spoke as though she was part of this family too. They spoke about camp and school and threw in a few names that Davey didn’t recognize at all. Must’ve been friends of theirs.

Davey noticed Katherine and Spot were careful to avoid the subject of what happened to Jack and Crutchie. And when Medda asked, Spot would steer the conversation to another subject.

His heart sank to think that this woman had raised the three of them and would eventually find out that two of her three sons weren’t coming back…

Davey shook that thought from his head. He didn’t need to feel like this right now. He needed to clear his head to be able to fight. He needed to get the thought that he was fighting a friend out of his head. Because Jack _wasn’t_ his friend. He was just using him the whole time.

Finally, after dinner, Medda ushered them to the living room and told them to sit down and relax.

As much as he would’ve wanted to just kick back and relax, Davey was nervous. He was tired, yes, but his anxiety was what kept him going.

He let Sarah lean on him and put an arm around her to hold her close.

Medda sat down on a chair across from the couch him, Sarah, and Katherine were sitting on. Spot was standing next to the couch, leaning against it.

“Now,” she said, “you wanna tell me where the other two are?”

No one spoke.

Medda pressed on. “Come on now,” she continued. “I know Charlie and Jack went on this little quest too. The three of you stopped by to say bye before you left. So, spit it out.”

The was a long silence before Katherine spoke up.

“I… Medda…” She looked like she physically couldn’t get the words out. “Crutchie… he’s not…” She wrung her hands. “He’s-”

Medda held a hand up, and Katherine went silent immediately.

The older woman looked down. She tensed up. “I understand.” She nodded her head slowly. She went quiet and took in a few deep breaths.

The welcoming, cheerful mood she had immediately become more serious. It was as if the entire room went grey.

Spot spoke up. “Ma…” His voice shook. “Ma, I’m so sorry. He didn’t want us to help him.”

“And Jack?” Medda asked.

“He…” Spot glanced at Davey. He nodded in his direction. “Jacobs, here, can tell ya what happened. He saw it firsthand.”

Davey gave him an annoyed look.

Medda gave a faint smile. “Yes, you should talk, honey,” Medda said. “You haven’t said a word since you came in. The only thing I know is your name.”

Davey swallowed. “Uh… This is kind of a lot to explain.”

“Take your time, David.”

Davey took in a breath. He didn’t just want to give her the basics as he had with the others. This was her son, so he decided to start from the beginning. He told her about how Jack was the son of Hades, Jack’s mental breakdown, him working for Kronos, the Underworld, and everything in between. When he finally finished, everyone was silent.

“You didn’t tell us that,” Katherine finally said.

“Well, now you know,” Davey responded.

“Francis,” Sarah giggled.

He glanced up at Medda and saw an unreadable expression. Gods, he hoped he hadn’t made things worse.

She sighed. “Why did I have a feeling this was coming?”

Spot raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what?”

Medda straitened her back. “I knew that would get out eventually. That he was the son of the Lord of the Underworld himself. I was _not_ expecting the rest of that.”

“You _knew_?” Spot and Davey asked in unison.

“Of course, I knew,” she said at though it were obvious. “That was the first thing they told me when he was given to me as a kid.” She waved a dismissive hand. “But that’s a story for another time. To sum it up, Zeus wasn’t too happy about Francis being born, so he was given to me to keep him hidden. A lotta good that did everyone, huh?”

“Wait, you knew but you didn’t tell me or Crutchie?” Spot asked.

“The kid couldn’t keep a secret for anything, and you would’ve taken protecting him to an extreme level that the gods woulda figured it out a long time ago,” Medda explained. She noticed the look on Spot’s face and returned it. “And don’t tell me you wouldn’t have. I know you well enough, Sean. It was a little secret between Jack and me.”

Her face fell a little. “I just didn’t think he’d hold that grudge long enough for it to hurt him. I swear when I get ahold of that kid…” She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

Spot made his way to his mom’s side. He put an arm around her. “It’s okay, Ma,” he said. “It’s okay. We’ll get him back.” He looked up at Davey. “Right guys?”

Davey nodded. “Uh, yeah. That’s the plan.” _Hopefully._

He looked over at Sarah, who seemed to be fighting off sleep. “Mm-hm…” She closed her eyes rested her head on Davey.

Katherine spoke. “Medda, do you think you can drive us to camp? We don’t have a lot of time, and we need to warn the rest of camp about what’s coming.”

Medda nodded. “Of course, dear. Anything for you kids. Let me just get dressed, and we’ll head out.” She stood up and walked into a room, shutting the door behind her.

Spot shoved his hands in his pockets. “So, what _is_ the plan exactly?”

Davey shrugged. “I don’t have one yet, but, initially, I figured I could talk-”

“You’re gonna just talk to him?” Spot interrupted. “Ya know, that ain’t gonna work, right? He threw you into the Underworld and showed that he ain’t all there in the head, and you’re just gonna talk to him!”

“Yeah,” Davey said. “He’s still Jack. He still has to have some sympathy under all… that.”

“That’s true, I guess,” Katherine said. “We’ve known him for years. He’s our friend and our family. We have to at least try, and if not-” She glanced down at the stygian iron sword. “-well, we have our alternative.”

“It’s not going to have to come to that. Prophecy or not, I don’t want to start a fight. I’ll get through to him, so try not to worry.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

Davey looked down. “Then, we’ll have to worry.”

He looked back up to see Spot had looked away from him. His shoulders looked tensed up. He seemed lost in thought.

It wasn’t long before Medda came out of her room with her hair put up in a messy bun. She was wearing a gray sweater and jeans. She grabbed some keys off a nearby counter and twirled them around on her fingers.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get you kids to camp.” She noticed Sarah and smiled softly. “It is pretty late, and camp is pretty far, so you kids can sleep in the car if y’all want.”

She walked over and gently picked up Sarah as if she weighed nothing. Sarah made a small noise but remained asleep.

Davey grabbed the sword and followed Medda, Spot, and Katherine downstairs. Medda seemed to treat the situation like it had happened hundreds of times before. That made Davey wonder how many times her kids barged in unexpectedly in the middle of the night to ask for a ride somewhere… Probably more times than he would expect. This was Greek demigods he was talking about. More specifically, _this_ group of Greek demigods.

They came to a minivan that was parked nearby, and Medda handed Spot the keys for him to open it. Once it was open, she set Sarah down in the back seat. Davey sat next to her, and Katherine sat on her other side. Spot went up front with Medda.

Sarah’s eye fluttered open. “Huh?” She asked tiredly.

“We’re on our way to the Greek camp,” Davey explained quietly. “It’s going to be a while, so go back to sleep.”

“If you insist.” She set her head on his shoulder and fell back to sleep.

Medda started up the truck, and they were off. The trip was quiet at first. Sarah and Katherine were sleeping, and Spot was… probably asleep? It was hard to tell. He was really quiet though.

Davey would’ve slept too, but he couldn’t. His mind was going a hundred miles a minute. He didn’t have time to sleep. He had to think of a way to save Jack and save his brother and everyone else. Man, who would’ve thought having the weight of the world on your shoulders could cause so much stress?

Back home, he got stressed just trying to fit in with the other. Now, he had to stop Kronos, the king of the titans, from taking over the world. Yeah… he was kind of screwed.

Medda looked in the rearview. She tapped the steering wheel. “David,” she said quietly as not to wake the others, “you need to sleep. We still have a long way to go.”

Davey looked down at his feet. “Um, no thank you, ma’am. I’m fine.”

“You need to sleep, darling. Now, I ain’t a demigod, but I’m pretty sure anyone would be tired if they had the kinda day you’ve been having.”

“I know, but I can’t sleep. I’m worried…”

“I guess that happens when you’re a demigod, huh?” She smiled. “Everything’s going to be fine, David.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I ain’t. I know you demigods go on these quests, but usually, you all come back in one piece…” She cleared her throat. “It’s all gonna turn out fine. It usually does.”

“But, Kronos-”

“Trust me, Dave. If you stick with these crazy kids, you won’t have anything to worry about. And don’t worry about Jack. He’s a good kid. He’s just being steered in the wrong direction. He’s usually a very sweet boy.”

 _I know._ Davey wanted to say that. But he wasn’t so sure what he knew at this point.

Medda muttered something under her breath. Davey was only able to catch a few words like “that kid’s in big trouble” and “I swear he is grounded”.

Davey thought for a moment. “So, you knew this whole time?”

Medda looked in the rearview mirror again. “I did.”

“And… if you don’t mind me asking, how did he feel about his dad?”

Medda sighed. “Well, he doesn’t like to talk about it much. I don’t know how much he actually remembers. I know he doesn’t like that he left him. I always told him he could talk about it if he wanted to, but he always avoided the subject. Poor kid… He doesn’t get the whole picture, and I don’t know how to tell him the story because I don’t know the whole story. As I said, I ain’t a demigod, so I don’t know what he’s goin’ through.”

Davey ran a hand through his hair. “I get it… I’m going to make this right. I’m going to get him back.”

“I hope so. Now, try to get some rest. You ain’t gonna be able to help anyone if you’re tired.”

Davey nodded. “I’ll try.”

There was silence. Davey stared out at the passing buildings. His eyelids became heavy after a while. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a not so peaceful sleep.

-

He had to get away.

Davey turned to see a giant figure behind him. It was getting closer by the second. It was huge, maybe as tall as the god of the underworld. Maybe taller.

It was hard to tell what it was. The only thing Davey could make out was the golden eyes staring straight at him.

He turned and continued running. His feet were burning as he tried to run faster. He sprinted away from the figure, trying to find a place to hide. There were none. It was only empty space. Davey was completely vulnerable with no weapon and no place to go.

“Dave! Dave, help!”

Davey heard a familiar voice call out to him. He whipped around and saw the figure was gone. It was replaced by a large, black serpent the size of at least two buses. It hissed loudly as it wrapped itself around a familiar figure.

“Sarah!” Davey called out. He ran toward the monster but stopped when he heard someone else call his name.

He turned around to see Les being held down by Oscar Delancey. He had an ugly smile on his face that made his scar crunch up in a weird way. He had a steel sword held above his head ready to strike his little brother.

Davey stopped and looked from Sarah to Les. He couldn’t move.

“What’s the matter, David?” Oscar taunted. “So many problems… so many people to save… and only one of you. What are you gonna do? What’s the great son of Neptune to do, huh?”

Davey felt his heart racing in his chest. He looked back at Sarah, who was getting the life squeezed out of her by the snake. Then, he looked at Les, who was about to be impaled by Oscar.

He pulled at his hair. “I-I…” His eyes darted between both. “I don’t-”

“Time’s up,” Oscar said.

As he said that, Davey got the air knocked out of him by a gigantic boulder that seemingly appeared from nowhere.

Davey let out a groan of pain. He tried to escape, but his leg was stuck. He watched as Oscar’s grip tightened on the sword. Davey shut his eye before he could bring the sword down. He didn’t hear anything, but he was too afraid to open his eyes.

Then, the weight that was on top of him disappeared. He didn’t want to open his eyes, but something compelled him to open his eyes.

His whole body shook. Tears trailed down his face at the sight that laid before him.

Sarah stared off blankly into the distance. Her eyes were glazed over, and her face was a pale color. Her body laid limp in front of Davey; her limbs sprawled to the side.

Les laid next to her with his eyes shut. His hands were holding his wound as if he was trying to stop the bleeding. His clothes were soaked in red and the smell of copper filled the air.

Davey let out a sob. He buried his face in his hands and cried. His heartache soon transformed into anger. He felt his blood boil and wiped the tears from his eyes.

He looked up to see that Oscar was gone. He stood up, still shaking. “Where did you go?” He screamed. “Show yourself! Fight me!”

He felt something on his leg. It made its way up to his body until it was wrapped around his arm. Davey looked down at his arm to see a much smaller version of the black serpent wrapping itself around his arm. It slithered up his arms and wrapped around his neck.

Davey frantically pulled at the snake. He tried to get his fingers under the creature, but it was too tight. His oxygen was being cut off, and it was getting hard to breathe.

He felt a breath on his neck.

“Heya, Davey.”

Davey’s eyes widened at the voice. It sounded familiar yet so different somehow. His eyes looked in the direction of the voice, but he couldn’t see anything.

“What’s the matter? Can’t talk?” There was a quiet laugh. “I do tend to have that effect on people.”

It was getting harder to breathe.

Davey felt a hand on his shoulder spun him around forcibly. He came face to face with Jack. Except there was something different about him.

His usual dark eyes had been replaced with a bright golden color. He smirked. He held up his other hand to reveal he was holding a rope. He pulled on it, and Davey felt his airway tightening.

The snake had turned into a rope. A rope that Jack was holding.

“Don’t it just feel like everything’s just comin’ down on you? Kinda… kinda like a noose tightening?” He pulled again.

Davey gasped for air.

Jack used the arm that was still on his shoulder to push him backward. Davey almost tripped. He looked behind him to find a huge empty void. He looked back at Jack frightened.

“Jack…”

The other boy grinned and gave Davey a small wave. “Bye-bye, Davey.”

He gave Davey one last push that sent him spiraling into nothingness. Not into nothingness...

To his death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, that got dark. Also, the black snake means two things in Davey's dream, so yeah... that's a thing. The next chapter's gonna be kinda a doozy, so I'm excited about that!


	17. Camp Half-Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Here we are at Camp Half-Blood!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! Sorry, I didn't post last week :( I was stressed and had a lot of stuff going on, but I'm back with a new chapter! I hope y'all enjoy it!

Davey jolted upward.

His hands immediately flew to his throat. He took in deep breaths and felt his heart beating a million miles an hour. His eyes darted around and took in his surroundings.

He wasn’t dead. Sarah was still next to him. Davey sighed with relief when he saw she was still breathing. Katherine as awake now and staring out the window into the night sky.

Davey noticed that there were significantly fewer buildings. There were more open fields and open roads. It was kind of soothing.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and blinked a few more times to confirm he was still here. He opened his mouth to say something, but the car came to a halt before he could form words.

“Wake up, kiddos,” Medda said gently. “We’re here.”

Davey nudged Sarah until she woke up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Where…where are we?” she asked groggily.

Katherine opened the door. “Welcome to our camp. Camp Half-Blood.”

She stepped out of the vehicle and Sarah and Davey followed suit. Davey dragged his sword behind him. He hoped he wouldn’t have to drag this around too much longer. It was getting heavy.

Spot stepped out and said something to Medda in a whispery voice Davey couldn’t quite hear. He noticed Medda respond with a nod.

“Your mom’s not coming with us?” Sarah asked.

“Duh, ‘course not. Only half-bloods can enter. It’s just like ours, but people can get away with way more.”

Katherine rolled her eyes. She turned to Medda. “We’ll see you soon, Medda! Love you!”

Medda waved. “Love you too, Kathy.” She turned to Spot. “And what about you, Sean? You’re not gonna tell your mama goodbye?”

Spot groaned. He hurried over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Love you, Ma. See you soon.”

“That’s more like it. I’m gonna stay close in case you kids need anything,” she said. “Oh, and bye Sarah! Bye David! I hope we’ll be seein’ you two around after all this.”

Sarah waved a cheerful goodbye while Davey gave an awkward wave. They followed Katherine and Spot up a hill to what looked to be the tallest Pinetree that Davey had ever seen. There was an entrance to a strawberry field next to it. It was dark and looked like no one had been here in ages. Katherine stopped them.

“Just let me do the talking, okay?” She scanned them over with her stormy, gray eyes. Davey and Sarah nodded. She turned to Spot, who just gave her a nod.

“Okay,” Katherine said. “Let’s go. Dave, Sarah, welcome to Camp Half-Blood.”

She walked passed the Pinetree and disappeared.

Davey shared a look with his sister. Sarah shrugged and followed Spot. Davey put one foot past the barrier but was distracted by a noise.

He turned around and looked out into the dark landscape. Nothing. All the stress must’ve been making him hear things.

The environment changed drastically. A pitch-black old strawberry field to a livelier dimly lit area.

It was still night, but things seemed brighter somehow. There was a large building nearby with what looked to be a volleyball court close to it. In the distance, there were smaller buildings lined up in a giant U shape. It was easy to tell by their silhouettes that they all had differing looks. A few of them even seemed to give off a low glow.

It gave off a friendly vibe, which was sort of weird. Camp Jupiter had such a serious and soldierly feeling to it. This camp seemed more welcoming. Not that Davey had a problem with his camp, but this was a nice change of pace.

Katherine stood on the hill and took in a deep breath. “Welcome to where I come from kiddos. Take it in. It’s glorious, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, sure. If you says so,” Spot said.

Katherine punched him on the arm. “ _Anyway_ , let’s go tell Chiron and Mr. D what we know. They’ll probably want to get started on a plan of action right away. This way.”

She led them to the large building and knocked. “Hello? Chiron, sir,” she called. “It’s me, Katherine Pulitzer.”

There was a loud clopping noise like the sound of a horse walking. A tall figure appeared in the doorway.

“Katherine? What are you doing here?”

The man was a tall, middle-aged looking man with dark, messy hair and a matching scruffy beard. That’s what his top half looked like at least. From his waist down, his legs were replaced by the body of a white stallion.

Katherine spoke hurriedly. “Chiron, listen. That prophecy about the son of Hades and Neptune and Kronos? We only have two days before it happens! And there’s a rebellion and Jack-”

“Slow down, dear,” Chiron said holding up his hands. “You’re going too fast. Why don’t you and your friends come in, and you can tell me about what’s going on?”

She nodded. They entered the house and sat down around a large table. Chiron remained standing.

“Oh, and these are our new friends from the Roman camp,” Katherine explained. “Their children of Neptune.” She turned to them. “Sarah, David, meet Chiron.”

Davey smiled nervously. “Hello, sir.”

Chiron smiled. “It a pleasure to meet you two. Now,” he said, “explain what happened. And didn’t Jack and Charlie accompany you on this quest?”

Everyone’s expressions went dark.

Davey cleared his throat. “They’re gone…”

The centaur’s expression fell. “Oh…oh my…”

“Well, Jack’s gone in a different way,” Sarah said. “He’s working with Kronos and he’s the son of Hades.”

“And so are all the demigods that have gone missing,” Katherine said. “They’re all working to take down the gods. We need to get everyone ready to fight off anyone that comes near Olympus or even the camp!”

Chiron stared at them for a moment. He looked like he was trying to process this wave of information. His tail whipped behind him. “Children, if all of this is true-”

“It is.”

“Well, we don’t have too much time to waste. Mr. D heard about a possible war going down soon and was pulled back to Olympus. Katherine, Sean, we’ll come up with a plan to keep camp safe and defeat the demigods. We’ll let the others know tomorrow morning.”

“Wait, what are we supposed to do?” Davey asked.

“You need to rest. You’re going to need all the rest you can get before facing off with a demigod who may be one of the most powerful.”

“I don’t need rest. I need to know what’s going to happen.” Then, he remembered his sword. “Maybe, I can learn to fight with this sword.” He lifted it.

Chiron smiled. “Goodness, you’re an anxious one, aren’t you? And where did you get a sword like that? Stygian iron is an extremely rare ore.”

“Hades gave it to me. He said it can kill a titan, so I think I should learn how to maybe fight with it.”

“It can kill anything is used correctly. Unlike celestial bronze or imperial gold, this can harm mortals as well. I suppose you and your sister can borrow some weapons from the armory and train in the arena. Katherine, would you mind showing our guests around?”

“Yes, sir,” Katherine said standing up. “Come on guys.”

Katherine led them out of the building into the night air. Sarah was the first one to speak.

“You know, we could’ve just gone to bed and done this in the morning.”

“And you know how I get when I get nervous. Sleep is not an option right now.”

Sarah nodded and gave a small sigh. “Yeah, I know.” She turned her attention to the Greek demigod. “So, where to first, Kath?”

She smiled excitedly. “I want to show you guys the cabins. Come on. Come on! Plus, you kind of need to know where you’re staying for the night, so… yeah.” She led them to the giant U shape made up of various cabins.

They all had their own decorations and varied very differently. One illuminated and had a silver color that stood out in the moonlight elegantly, another was badly painted red with a boar head over the door and barbed wire decorating the roof. Two bigger cabins were at the end that seemed to be made of marble and had something that looked like matching designs.

“This one’s mine,” Katherine pointed to one that was a plain gray building with white curtains and an owl painted over the door. “Cabin Six. The Athena cabin. And the one you guys are going to be staying in is the Poseidon cabin. Cabin Three.”

She pointed to one that looked to be made of a sort of rough sea stone with seashells embedded into the walls. There was a trident with a big bronze number three over the door. It was a beautiful building.

“Wait, so you guys stay in cabins that depend on your godly parent? Seems a little unfair, doesn’t it? Because some cabins will have more campers than others,” Sarah asked.

“Well, yeah. How do you guys decide where you sleep?”

“Not like this.”

“Can we just move on to the armory?” Davey interrupted.

“Right, this way.”

They followed Katherine to a gray building that looked sort of like a shed. Katherine threw open the door to reveal a surplus of different weapons. It ranged from normal swords to spears and even shotguns.

“Okay, Dave already has his weapon. Sarah, choose one for you.”

Sarah followed Katherine into the armory. She picked up a spear that looked similar to Spot’s.

“Hey, hey Dave,” Sarah said. “Look. Guess who I am.” She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Jacobs, get your butt over here! Stop doing that! I’m so cool ‘cause I’m a praetor, and my dad is Mars.”

Katherine and Davey laughed.

Davey smiled. “Yup, that sounds like him.”

“Yeah, he needs to learn to not get so worked up about things,” Katherine said. “He’s so dumb sometimes.” He smiled as she said that.

“That looks a lot like his spear though,” Davey pointed out. “It just looks less used.”

“It’s an ancient Greek Spartan spear. One of the best out there, so it doesn’t surprise me,” Katherine explained. “Anyway, is that the weapon you want?”

“Nah.” Sarah replaced the spear. Something seemed to catch her eye. “Oh, how about this?” She walked over and picked up a giant bronze shield. It was round and had a few scratches across its exterior. It was really plain-looking.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want anything newer?” Katherine asked.

“Nah, I like this one. It just feels right.” She strapped it to her arm. “Yes. Yes, this’ll do.”

“Alright then. Davey?”

Davey twisted the sword he was holding. “No, this is fine.”

“Okay, so you guys know where you’ll be staying and have your weapons. Let me show you the training area.”

It wasn’t a long walk from the armory to what looked like an arena. They entered and were met with vast space with practice dummies scattered around. Katherine explained that they usually taught sword fighting lessons here or train for a fight. She explained that they could either practice with each other or use the dummies but to clean up after they were done. With that, she left them to their own devices.

Davey was practically tearing apart the practice dummies. He went up to the closets one and slashed at it. He drove his sword straight through the armor of the straw figure.

Davey was hardly surprised. He was taking out all his frustrations and stress on these poor practice dummies. He found that is was easier to fight when he pictured the dummies as Oscar Delancey.

He was about to strike again when something went flying over his head. He ducked.

“Oop, sorry, Dave!” Sarah went and picked up her shield.

“What are you doing?!”

“Haven’t you ever seen a Marvel movie? Captain America throws his shield all the time.”

Davey felt his shoulders tense up. “You know just as well as I do that those are just movies!”

“You never know.”

“Yes, I do! The physics don’t allow those tricks to happen!”

“Gods, calm down, bro. I was just trying something out. Are you okay?”

“No.”

He turned around and hit the figure so hard that he cut the head off. The head fell to the floor with a thud that echoed through the air. His shoulders drooped and he sighed. “I’m scared.”

Sarah walked over to him and put an arm around him. “We all are, but don’t worry. You’re not doing this alone. Remember?”

“Yeah, I just-”

There was a clattering sound.

Davey instinctually raised his sword, and he noticed Sarah go into a fighting stance. The walked toward the direction the sound went.

“Hey, who’s there?” Sarah asked.

No response.

“Show yourself,” Davey demanded.

Sarah picked up her shield and threw it again. This time there was a loud clattering noise. An “ouch” was heard from the darkness.

“Stop doing that,” Davey whispered.

“Sorry.”

They walked closer to the dark corner of the arena. Then, without warning, a figure stood up.

Davey pointed his sword at the figure. “Stop! Don’t move!” She took another step forward. “Who are you?”

“Calm down, son of Neptune. I ain’t here to do too much damage,” a voice with a thick New York accent said. It was familiar. Davey had heard it somewhere before. “Anyway, I just came to see what was going on with yous. I got what I needed.”

The figure then jumped and grabbed onto the wall. He climbed up the wall and left the arena.

Davey felt anger begin to build up inside. He ran out the back with his sister close behind. They saw the figure running in the direction of a forest. The two chased after him.

“Stop!” Davey called after him.

The figure sped up. He dodged trees and ran faster.

Sarah sped up. She was faster than Davey and managed to almost catch up to him, then he made a sudden turn. Sarah ended up running into a tree.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Go get that guy!”

Davey dropped the sword and ran after the figure. The boy seemed shorter than him and a muscular build. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought it might be Jack, but the voice didn’t sound anything like Jack’s.

The figure turned came to a stop and turned to Davey. He touched his neck, and a golden light shone in the shape of a scythe. He gave Davey a mock salute and sprinted away. This time it was like watching a lighting speed disappear into the darkness.

Davey grunted. He picked up the pace and sprinted after the boy, knowing well he wouldn’t be able to catch up. He eventually stopped his fruitless attempt to catch up and caught his breath.

He rolled his shoulders back and looked in the direction the figure was running.

He took in a deep breath and held up his hands in the general direction the light was coming from. The ground shook and water erupted from the ground. Davey made a grabbing motion, and the water formed a giant sphere, grabbing everything in the area. Trees, rocks, debris, and even people.

Davey trapped the figure inside the sphere. He walked closer and got a closer look. It was that kid that he saw back at the caverns. The one that had red hair and bad attitude Davey didn’t like. He couldn’t remember his name though.

“You,” Davey whispered. “What are you doing here?”

The redhead held his throat. He stared at Davey with wide eyes.

“Answer me!”

The light-emitting from his scythe marking slowly began to fade. Bubbles escaped his mouth.

“Answer-”

“You know he can’t answer if you kill him, right?” Sarah came walking up behind him with the stygian iron sword in hand.

Davey looked from the kid to Sarah. “Oh… yeah, right.” He put his hands down and the watery prison crashed down.

The kid fell to the floor and began coughing up water. Sarah immediately went over to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. She dragged him over to a nearby tree and threw him against it.

“Alright, kid listen up,” she said. “Who are you, and what are you doing spying on us?”

The teenager rubbed the back of his head. “I…” He coughed again.

Sarah gave Davey a look. “Should we take him back to the others?”

“We should use him as a practice dummy is what we should do,” Davey answered walking up to them. Davey grabbed the sword from Sarah and raised it.

The redhead flinched. Davey just smiled and put the sword down. “Yeah, let’s take him to the others. They’ll know what to do with him.”

Sarah pulled him to his feet and forced his hands behind his back. Davey walked beside her to make sure he didn’t try anything funny.

He also noticed how the scythe marking on his neck was slowly starting to lose its yellowish glow and fade back into what looked like a mark seared into his skin.

The boy wasn’t exactly too thrilled to be taken back to the others. He tried to escape a few times. Kicking Sarah in the legs, pulling away, trying to take a swing at Davey. Sarah had to pin him down a few times. Finally, Davey had enough and whacked him in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.

Sarah gave Davey a look, then shrugged. She picked him up and threw him over her shoulder like nothing had happened.

Davey opened the door as Sarah lugged the unconscious body into the room.

“Um, Mr. Chiron, sir,” Davey said. “We have a bit of an issue…”

Chiron made his way over to the two Roan demigods. “What happened here, children? Wait, Albert DaSilva?”

“Albert?” Katherine knelt next to him. “Where did you guys find him?”

“He was spying on us,” Sarah explained. “Davey knocked him out, so we could bring him here.”

“What’re we supposed to do with him?” Spot asked walking up to them.

“I don’t know. Interrogate him or something?” Sarah said with a shrug. “Because that mark on his neck started glowing, and he started running faster.”

Katherine grabbed his face and turned it to get a look at the scythe marking on his neck. She hummed. “You’re right, Sarah. If we interrogate him, we’re bound to get answers out of him about what the other demigods have planned.”

“Tie him up though,” Spot added. “We don’t want him escapin’.”

Soon, Albert was sitting in a chair with his hands tied behind the back of the chair and his legs bound to the chair. It wasn’t too long before he woke up.

Albert groaned in pain. “Ugh… my head…” He blinked a few times. Then he stared up at them with his bright hazel eyes. “Where am I? I ain’t supposed to be here?” He squirmed in his chair.

“Calm down, Al,” Spot said. “We’re just gonna ask ya a few questions.”

“An what makes ya think I’m gonna answer ‘em? You can’t make me talk?” Albert smirked.

“Well, do you like bein’ alive? ‘Cause if ya don’t-”

“That’s enough Sean,” Chiron intervened. He cleared his throat. “Now, we just need to ask you a few things, Mr. DaSilva. Would you mind answering them?”

Albert bit his bottom lip. He shook his head.

“Why not?”

Albert looked down. “I can’t tell ya anything.”

Katherine took a step closer. “Look, we don’t want to use force. We just want to know what Jack and-”

He flinched. “I can’t tell ya.”

“Well, why were you here in the first place?” Katherine asked.

Albert looked down, then back up at them. “To spy on yous. I was just sent to see what you guys was up to and if it would be safe to attack soon. The only thing I didn’t plan on was _him_ -” He nodded toward Davey. “-bein’ alive. Ja- er, the boss said you was dead.”

“Well, he was wrong,” Davey said.

“Obviously,” Albert replied. “So, I was gonna see what you twos was up to and report back.”

“So, Jack sent you to see if we were weak to be attacked?” Chiron asked.

Albert tensed up. “Yeah… it ain’t even like I wanna do this. Racer said it would be a good idea, and then J- everyone else kinda followed.”

Davey noticed how Jack’s name seemed to make Albert jumpy. Heck, he didn’t even want to mention the name.

Davey rolled his shoulders back. “So, you didn’t want to even do this?” Davey asked.

“I wouldn’t trust everything he says, Jacobs” Spot put his hands on his hips. “He’s a son of Hermes. They’re known for bein’ tricksters.”

Davey tilted his head. “What about that mark? What’s that mark for?”

Albert’s eyes looked down toward his neck. “What this? It’s somethin’ Kronos gives us to boost our powers and show loyalty to him.”

“Boost your powers?”

“Yeah, when we activate it, we get a boost. Hermes kids run faster and are more agile, Demeter kids can grow bigger and stronger plants, Hecate kids can do stronger spells… ya know, all that stuff.”

“Oh dear,” Chiron said. He looked nervous. “That doesn’t sound good for us in the slightest.”

“I ain’t. And that’s only with one godly parent. Imagine havin’ two…” He shivered. “You guys might just be screwed, and with what Kronos has planned…” He trailed off.

“What does he have planned?” Katherine asked.

“Yous really wanna know?”

“Yes,” almost everyone said in unison.

Albert’s shoulders drooped. He took in a deep breath. “Fine, I’ll tell yous, but…” He bit his bottom lip so hard blood trickled down his chin. “…but, let me help ya.”

That… was not at all what Davey expected to hear. Seeing everyone else’s expressions, he wasn’t alone.

Katherine raised an eyebrow. “Wh-”

“I don’t wanna do this. It seemed like fun and game until crap started getting real, and people started goin’ crazy and gettin’ serious. Race dragged me into this.”

Spot tensed up at the final statement. Davey crossed his arms.

“How do we know we can trust you?” Sarah asked. “You kind of bruised my legs by kicking them a bunch of times.”

He squirmed a bit. “You don’t. But, let me tell ya somethin’. You’re all in danger. Kronos is comin’.”

“Well, we knew that al-”

“Like physically! He’s physically comin’ back with a body!”

The room fell silent.

Albert licked his lips. “He’s gonna use a demigod’s body until he can get his own back. You defeat his host, you defeat him. Simple enough, right? Hell, as we speak, he’s probably gettin’ stronger.”

There was still silence until Katherine spoke up.

“Who is he using? We need to know, so we can take him down and maybe prevent this whole thing.”

Albert raised an eyebrow. “Ain’t it obvious? He chose the strongest demigod he could find.”

“Which is?”

He took in a deep breath. “It's Jack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes. Me stealing another plot point from the books? More likely than you think. Also, it's loving Albert o'clock. He's a good boi, I swear-  
> Anyway, I feel like the ending was sort of rushed... but I like the way the rest came out. Hope you all enjoy it! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


	18. Son of Mars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some angsty angst >:3c

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaahhhh! Sorry, it took so long to upload this chapter! I had finals and stuff. Left y'all on a cliffhanger tho, huh? Anyway, did someone say more angst and for Spot to finally snap? No? Well, here it is anyway! I kinda liked writing this chapter. The ending was fun to write!  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Davey was getting tired of this.

He was just completely done with all of this. There were way too many twists and turns for him to process.

Last night, after everything that happened, Davey was more stressed than he’s ever been. With all the new information Albert dumped on them, it was a lot to process. And with so many thoughts and emotions to process, how was Davey going to cope with this? The only way he knew how. Accidentally blowing up the nearest room with a water supply and then training to vent his frustrations.

Davey had spent all night practicing his sword fighting skills and using his powers to a lesser extent. Sarah was with him for a while until she decided to turn in for the night. Davey was left alone.

He felt a little better knowing Albert wasn’t being let off that easy. He was being restrained to only what they called the Big House. Chiron, Spot, and Katherine were keeping a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t escape.

Davey wasn’t quite sure whether to trust him or not. He had tried to kill him after all. But something about Albert’s mannerisms and the genuine fear in his voice made it hard not to trust him. He was either a really good actor or truly terrified of what was happening.

The more he thought about it, the more confused Davey felt. And the more confused he felt, the angrier he got. It just made him want to stab someone.

He furiously thrust the stygian iron sword through a practice dummy. He twisted the sword to drive it deeper into the figure and let it fall to the ground with a loud thud.

He took in deep breathes and pulled the sword out slowly. He let the weapon fall to the floor and the clattering sound echo through the air.

“You really hate those things, don’t ya?” A voice asked from behind Davey.

Davey quickly turned and was met with two boys holding double-edged celestial bronze swords.

One of the boys had straight blonde hair that reached his forehead. He had a familiar stormy gray eye. Only one though. He had a brown eyepatch covering his left eye. He had a serious expression like he was silently judging Davey.

The other boy had a cap on backward with bits of messy, dark brown hair poking out the sides. His matching brown eyes glinted with mischief. A slingshot sticking out of his pants, which Davey found weird because he had pockets. He had a playful smile.

They were both wearing orange t-shirts that read “Camp Half-Blood”.

The second boy took a few steps forward. “So… you new here?”

“’Course he ain’t, Finch,” the blonde said. “Did ya see the way he demolished that thing? Kid’s got some mad skills.”

The boy, Finch, shrugged. “Just askin’. I ain’t seen him around. Or that new girl from breakfast.” He turned to Davey. “Is she your sister?”

Davey sighed. He picked up the stygian iron sword. “Uh… yeah. We’re from Camp Jupiter. She’s my twin.”

The blonde punched Finch’s arm. “See? Told ya! The Roman’s got those skills.”

Davey tilted his head slightly confused. “What time is it exactly?”

“A little after nine,” Finch answered, walking over to Davey. He smirked. “What you here all night?”

Davey’s eye widened. “Yes!”

Finch met Davey at eye level. His smile fell. “Oh… Anyway, you can call me Finch. Finch Cortez.” He stuck his thumb in the other boy’s direction, who was now making his way over to them. “This is here’s name is Louis, but we calls him Kid Blink or just Blink.” He held out his hand. “How ‘bout you? You got a name?”

Davey shook his hand. “David Jacobs.”

Blink finally got to them. “Ain’t you the son of Neptune? Your sis said you twos was children of Neptune or somethin’ like that.”

Davey bit his bottom lip. He sighed. “Yeah.”

Blink shrugged. “Cool, mind if we join ya? Looks like you could use a few sparin’ buddies.”

Davey glanced toward the door. He shifted his weight awkwardly. “Uh, you guys can take the place from here actually. I have to go.”

“Okay, it was nice meetin’ ya, Dave,” Finch said with a small smile.

“See you ‘round,” Blink said, with a small wave.

Davey gave an awkward smile and dragged himself out of the training arena. When he got outside, he immediately shielded his eyes. Since when did the sun get so bright?

He blinked a few times. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he looked around and noticed that the once vacant area had was now filled with campers.

The demigods seemed to be busy. Some were carrying weapons. Others were forging weapons. There were a few that were standing around and talking about who knew what.

Davey took a few steps forward and felt an arm thrown around him.

“David Jacobs! Why didn’t you come to bed last night?”

Davey looked over at his sister. He shrugged. “Lost track of time, I guess.”

Sarah removed her arm from around him and put her hands on her hips. She shook her head. “I hate when you do that. You know you can’t be pulling all-nighters like that right now.”

Davey sighed. “I know,” he muttered. “Like I said, I lost track of time. I’m not even that tired.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow and shot him a look. She rolled her eyes then spoke. “Anyway, Katherine told me she and Spot were able to get more information from that Albert kid.”

They walked toward the Poseidon cabin as they talked.

Sarah continued. “So apparently, tomorrow around noon there were going to be a few demigods sent to attack Camp Half-Blood. Jack and a few others are planning to attack Olympus with the help of a few monsters. They’ve also got a few titans they’re going to use to lure the gods from Olympus to make things easier to attack.”

Davey bit the inside of his cheek. “So, do we have a plan yet?”

Sarah wrung her hands. “Spot came up with a plan to take down Kronos and the others. We were going to go over it tonight with the rest of camp.” She paused. “It’s a little extreme though. I mean, I know he’s the son of a war god, but I don’t know if we need to go that far.”

Davey glanced at her. “What is it?”

“Well… the basics of it are that we evacuate the camp, so they won’t have anyone here to hurt.” She stopped.

“Keep going,” Davey urged her.

“Well, you already knew that you and Jack were going to fight eventually, right? So, you need to distract him long enough using a celestial bronze sword until he lets his guard down. Then, you bring out your other sword and… kill him.”

Davey stopped his tracks. He turned to face his sister. Maybe he hadn’t heard her right. “Sorry, what?”

She gave Davey a look. “You’re going to half to, you know, stab him… right through the heart.”

Davey looked down. He brought his hand up and ran it through his hair. He looked back up and Sarah, who looked worried. Davey’s lips curled into a small smile. He let out a puff of air through his nose. “No thanks.”

Sarah raised her eyebrows. “You don’t really get to choose if you do it or not. It’s been set out already.”

Davey shook his head. Maybe he was really tired, or maybe it was everything that had happened these past few days, but he didn’t feel like hearing this right now. And he sure as heck didn’t feel like doing it.

He shook his head again. “I don’t think so. I’m not killing anyone.” Especially not someone he considered a friend.

“How are we supposed to defeat Kronos then?” Sarah crossed her arms.

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. Not by killing Jack though. There _has_ to be another way.”

“Hey, if you want to discuss it, talk to go to the main guy running this operation,” she said.

Davey looked at her, then looked at the Big House. “Okay.” He walked past her.

Sarah immediately grabbed his arm. “Wait, that was a joke! Don’t actually talk to Spot. He’s been in a worse mood than usual this morning. That’s not a great idea.”

“Probably not. But I’m going to go talk to him anyway.”

Sarah let go hesitantly. She nodded. “Okay, do what you think you have to.”

Davey nodded back and headed off to the only place he thought Spot would be.

He entered the Big House and noticed how it was empty except for Spot who was sitting at a table with his head down. Davey thought he was sleeping until he sat up and sighed.

“Spot?” Davey asked.

Spot stood up and rubbed his eyes quickly. He turned to Davey. His eyes looked bloodshot. “What do you want, Jacobs?”

Davey cleared his throat. “Oh, um, Sarah told me about the plan for tomorrow. And I just wanted to say something about it.”

“Mm-hm.” He nodded for him to continue. He wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve.

“I don’t want to do it.”

Spot blinked. “’Scuse me?”

“I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to kill someone.”

“Well, too bad. We can’t just let this happen, Jacobs. Do you want Kronos to come back? We take down Jack. We take down the rebellion.”

Davey felt his hands become fists. He gave Spot an icy glare and spoke, “So, you’re just going to let it happen?”

“What else do you want me to do?” Spot said. He looked like he was growing aggravated.

“I want you to come up with a different plan. That’s your brother! You’re really going to sit back and let him die! Just like you did with Crutchie!”

Spot slammed his fists on the table. “Don’t you dare say that!” He took in a heavy breath. “Don’t you _dare_.” He spoke through grit teeth.

Davey got a little too brave and walked up close to him. “Spot, he’s your _brother_ ,” Davey said trying to keep his voice calm. “I don’t understand why it’s so easy for you to get rid of him. I know he’s Greek and you’re Roman, but he’s still family. How can you live with killing your own brother?”

Spot narrowed his eyes. “I think he’s made it clear he ain’t my brother no more.”

“But-”

“That’s enough! Get outta here right now.” He pushed Davey away.

Davey turned to leave, but then turned back. “No.”

“I said get outta here, Jacobs.”

“No! Spot, we can’t do this! It’s not right!”

_“You don’t think I know that!”_

Davey was taken aback by how loud that was. He stared at the praetor. Spot leaned on the table and brought his hand up to shield his face.

Then, when Davey didn’t think it could get any worse. Spot removed his hand to reveal a stream of tears down his face.

The shorter boy took in a shaky breath. “You don’t think I know that… I’ve lost everything. Don’t ya get it? I don’t have anyone left! I’ve lost my boyfriend and both my brothers! What do I got left to lose?!”

Davey opened his mouth but Spot continued. He wiped the tears, only for more to trail down his cheeks.

“And on top of that, I can’t handle this! I can’t…” He leaned on the table. “I shouldn’t be doin’ this. I can’t…”

“Can’t what?” Davey said, growing slightly irritated.

“This,” Spot responded. “I can’t do this. I shouldn’t even be here.”

“Why not? What are you talking about? Stop being so vague!”

He gave Davey a look and blinked slowly. “David, I ain’t even supposed to be the praetor. I’m a fake.”

Davey took a step closer. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not a son of Mars… my dad is Ares.”

Davey stared at him as if waiting for him to say it was a joke, but the punchline never came.

“You’re…”

“Nothin’ special. I’m just another Ares kid.” He looked up at Davey with the same bloodshot eyes. “So, there it is. I don’t got anything, and what I did have I lost. What else could I possibly lose?”

“Your friends.”

Spot looked up at him but said nothing. He sat down held his forehead like he had a headache.

Davey just shook his head. “Forget it. As if you had any, to begin with. And you know what? Forget about the attack plan tomorrow. I’ll take it from here. It is my quest after all.”

He turned and walked toward the door. He turned back to see Spot staring blankly at the table. Tear stains were still present on his face.

“You’re no son of Mars. You’re not even a son of Ares. You’re a coward…”

With that, Davey turned and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Sarah wasn't there for him, Davey would be looking like L from Death Note... just saying. Look it up if you don't know who that is. That's Davey on one hour of sleep.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


	19. I May Fail, But it Doesn’t Mean that I Won’t Try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Davey and Katherine bonding :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay SO-  
> Sorry if the formatting is weird or the chapter is shorter than normal. My laptop is broken, so I’m writing this on my phone.  
> Also, I feel like the last chapter was kind of weak. Maybe it’s because I wrote it at midnight or that I wrote it while I was on writer’s block. Idk.  
> Anyway, I hope y’all like it!

_ Bam! _

Another hit to the wall. 

Davey took in a deep breath and punched the wall again. 

His blood was boiling. Besides the sound of his knuckles against the rough stone, all he could hear was an annoying ringing sound. 

He punched the wall again, not even caring how much it hurt his fists. He shook his hand and went in for another hit. 

He looked down and noticed how his knuckles were badly scratched and a bit of blood dripping down his hand. He wiped it off with his shirt. 

Gods, he wanted to scream. He wanted to hit someone. He wanted someone to hurt as much as he did right now. Physically and emotionally. 

The demigod took in a few more deep breaths then let out a frustrated scream that tore at his throat. 

He flopped onto one of the bed’s present in the Poseidon cabin and buried his face in the pillow. 

His fingers grasped at the cloth as he clutched the pillow close. 

Gods, he just wanted to disappear right there and then. He wanted everything to just go away or at the very least resolve itself. 

He was tired of this. All of this. Tired of the gods, the prophecy, Jack, Spot... Everything! 

He cursed silently to himself until he heard the door open. 

“Any reason you’re screaming like a madman in here? I bet they can hear you all the way on the other side of camp.”

It was a girl’s voice. Not Sarah’s though. 

It sounded like...

“Go away, Katherine,” Davey said hoarsely.

He heard the door close slowly, but footsteps came toward him, telling him she hadn’t left. He felt the mattress tilt slightly with the extra weight of another body. 

“I said go away.” Davey’s voice came out harshly. He knew his tone was one of a little kid’s after throwing a tantrum, but he didn’t care right now. 

“Did something happen between you and Spot?”

Davey dug his nails into the pillow. “How do you know what happened?”

Katherine hesitated. “I don’t know what happened exactly, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But I saw Spot a little while ago, and he said you were in charge now. That he didn’t want anything to do with this anymore...” She trailed off. 

Davey shifted so that one of his eyes was able to see Katherine. “Yeah...” He sighed. “That sounds about right.”

She hummed. “Must’ve been one heck of a fight, huh?”

Davey grunted in response. 

Katherine continued. “Spot was really angry when I talked to him. He didn’t even want to talk. I think he was close to crying.”

“Good.”

Katherine let out a sigh. “Come on, Dave. You gotta give me something. I feel like I’m talking to a child.”

He felt her run her fingers through his hair gently. Her usual harsh gray eyes had a more gentle feel. They were like clouds that had just calmed after a storm. Her tone was also much more friendly than her usual business one. 

Davey turned over so he was lying on his back. 

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Katherine raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Davey responded. He sat up next to her. “I’m not used to anyone other than Sarah checking up to see if I’m okay. Having friends is weird.”

Katherine laughed. “It really is. Try being friends with a camp full of demigods with one shared brain cell... and then being the one to have that brain cell the majority of the time.”

Davey smiled. “Can’t relate.”

“Well, when this is all over, you’ll see what I mean.” She let herself fall back on the bed. “It’ll be nice having a few more brain cells around.”

Davey pulled his legs up and hugged them to his chest. “How can you be so confident we’re going to win?”

She put her arms behind her head to use as a pillow. She purses her lips and shrugged. “How can you not? We have, you, Sarah, and the gods on our side. Plus, from what I gather from Albert, most of the demigods on the other side will turn pretty easily.”

“He could be pretending.”

“He’s not though. He’s giving up all their secrets and hasn’t done anything to rouse suspicion.”

“Neither did Jack, but here we are.” Davey’s voice came out sharper than he intended it to. 

Katherine’s face fell for a second before returning to her gentle demeanor. 

They sat in silence for what seemed like forever. 

Davey slightly regretted saying that. He probably didn’t have the right to be saying stuff like that. He had known Jack, for what, two days maybe? He didn’t even like Jack for half that time! Katherine knew him way before that. She knew more about what he was like than Davey might ever know.

Katherine finally spoke. 

“You know, when we were younger, Jack was a really sweet guy,” she said. “He’s not a bad person. Not at all. I think he’s just been through some stuff and not getting help or closure really started messing with his head.”

Davey raised an eyebrow. “Like what kind of stuff?”

Katherine shrugged. “Heck if I know. I hate how he never talked about his problems.” She crossed her legs and made a popping sound with her mouth. “Enough about that though. How do you plan on handling tomorrow?”

“I... have no idea.” 

Katherine snorted. “Great plan.”

“I’m under a lot of stress, okay.” Davey smiled. “I don’t want to use the original one, but we can’t just let Kronos win. And there has to be a way to save Jack.”

Katherine smirked a little. “Oh, I see. That’s what this is about.” She uncrossed her legs and sat up with a grin. 

“What?” Davey asked. He bit his thumbnail, hoping this wasn’t going the direction he thought it was. 

Katherine scooted so she was sitting closer to him. “Come on, you know. The way you two act around each other. The way you smile when he’s around.” She rolled her eyes when he gave her a questioning look. “It’s obvious you two like each other. Don’t act dumb.”

Davey felt his face slowly grow warm. “I do not! And even if I did, do you really think Jack would like me back.”

Katherine moved so she was sitting in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Oh my gods, Dave... you have to be the most oblivious demigod I’ve ever met. Have you never seen the way he looks at you and tries touching you? Did you not notice how much he flirts with you?”

Davey shook his head. 

Katherine facepalmed. “Gods, you’re impossible,” she muttered. She ran her hand through her hair and shook her head tiredly. “The point is: you like him and he likes you.”

“Why do people keep saying that? I do not like him!”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Well, it seems that way. Who else said that?”

“Two other people.”

“Which are?”

“Other people.”

“David!”

Davey sighed. “Sarah told me.”

“And?” Katherine asked, crossing her arms expectantly. 

“Aphrodite...”

“Dave, you are absolutely dense.”

“So, I’ve been told.”

Katherine swung her legs to the side of the bed. “Anyway,” she said and clapped her hands together, “let’s move on from the obvious and get to the second reason I’m here. What are we going to do about tomorrow?”

Davey shrugged. “I think the part about evacuating camp could work. They wouldn’t have anyone to attack. Maybe if we can get the gods to help us... but how are we supposed to deal with Kronos...”

“Maybe, you don’t have to,” Katherine said. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that maybe if you can find Jack before it’s too late, you can talk him out of whatever he’s going to do.”

“He’d never listen to me. What makes you think-”

“But he will! Just try talking it out. You don’t need fight. If he really does care about you, then he’ll hear what you have to say. Best case scenario, you’re able to get through to him and everything will be fine. If that doesn’t work, you always have the sword.”

Davey glanced over at the demigod. “You think that could work?”

“I do. He’s still Jack, so he’s gotta have some common sense left in there. Besides, I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to him either.” She looked down. 

Davey slowly slid his hands towards Katherine’s and took her hands in his. He squeezed them. “Okay, I’ll try.”

She gave him a small smile. “Good.” 

He let go of her hands. He stood up. “Now, help me with the specifics because we still need a way to find out where they’re keeping Les and rescue him.”

Katherine stood up and did a playful mock salute. “You got it.” 

She looked down at his hands. “You gonna want bandages for…” she gestured at his hands. “You know… all that?”

“Yes, that would be great.”

-

After Davey bandaged up his hands, him and Katherine spent the rest of the afternoon planning and creating strategies. 

Davey was a bit nervous. With everything they had planned out, he wasn’t sure they’d be able to pull it off. 

No. They had to pull this off. It was all or nothing. 

It was only a battle that would determine the rise of the king of the titans and end of the world. No big deal.

That afternoon, they ran the plan by Albert, who knew what was happening on the other side.

“So what do you think?” Katherine asked him. “Could it work?”

Albert rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Yeah, except one thing.” 

“Which is?”

“I could just tell ya where they’re keepin’ yer brother.”

Davey gave him a look. “And you didn’t think to mention this  _ sooner _ !”

He clicked his tongue nonchalantly as though he didn’t try to kill them a day previous. “Ya didn’t ask.”

Davey tried not to strangle him right then and there. He saw Katherine trying to do the same thing. “Can you tell us then?” He asked. 

“Sure,” Albert responded. “Ya see, a few blocks from the Empire State Building, there’s this abandoned old building that you’re brother’s bein’ kept. Last time I checked, Racer was in charge of watchin’ over him. Shouldn’t be too hard to get him back.”

Davey raised an eyebrow. “You’re right. Especially with you coming with me.”

Albert looked taken aback. “Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re coming with me and helping get him back.”

“You sure about that, Dave?” Katherine asked. 

“Yup,” Davey responded. “And if he doesn’t behave, I always have my sword, you know.”

Katherine nodded. “Okay, do you two are going to be doing that while Specs and I try to find out where Jack is. Sarah will be leading the rest of demigods to safety while Blink stations a few troops.” She tapped her chin. “I think we got this.”

“Perfect. Tomorrow morning is when we leave. Sarah will evacuate the camp tonight while you, me, Specs, and Albert stay behind. We’ll leave early in the morning. Got it?”

“Loud and clear,” Albert said. 

“Mhm,” Katherine hummed. 

“Good. Let’s go tell Chiron what we have.”

The three of them made their way to the Big House. Katherine walked beside Davey as Albert walked behind them. 

“You know, I’m impressed,” Katherine said. 

“By what?” Davey asked. 

“You. I mean, I know your dad is one of the Big Three, but you didn’t seem like the leader type. You know?”

Davey glanced at her and nodded. 

“But here we are,” she said. “You make a better leader than I thought. Impressive.”

Davey scratched the back of his neck shyly. “Heh, thanks, I guess. Don’t be impressed yet. We still have to actually  _ win _ this.”

She snickered. “Gotcha.”

They had to win this. It wasn’t much of an option at this point. It was either that or the end of the world. 

It made his stomach hurt just thinking about it. They were going to try to win. 

They were going to try to get Jack back. 

They were going to try to rescue Les. 

They were going to try. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gods, I’ve been wanting to write some Davey and Katherine bonding time for a while. They have a cute friendship :3 Next chapter is when things get GOING! I’m excited to write that!  
> Hope y’all enjoyed the chapter! See you next chapter guys, gals, and non-binary pals!


	20. We Don’t Have to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation we’ve all been waiting for, and some more angst for the soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, angst go brrr.
> 
> Also WARNING: blood, major injuries, and high sexual tension in this chapter.

“I don’t think this is sanitary.”

Albert threw the lid aside with a clang. “Well, not sure if ya know this, but the city could be swarmin’ with demigods and misters right now. It’s the sewer or nothin’.”

Davey wrinkled his nose as he looked down at the hole. He sighed reluctantly. “I guess. But if you try anything-”

“Look fish boy, you’ve told me this three times already, and I don’t feel like dying anytime soon. Just follow me and don’t say nothing. Okay?” He climbed down into the sewer without waiting for a response.

Davey muttered something under his breath and followed behind. He slid the lid back into the opening and hopped down. His feet were immersed in filthy greenish water. He shivered.

It was so dimly lit that Davey could hardly see his own hands in front of him.

Albert took his hand. “This way.” He led Davey down the murky old sewers.

This was not how Davey imagined the beginning of a final battle to look like.

He had woken up at four in the morning, traveled to Manhattan, and fought off a few monsters just to spend his morning in a New York sewer system… Great.

Davey had a hard time sleeping the previous night because of nerves and the whole having to fight Kronos/Jack thing, so he wasn’t in any mood to be dealing with Albert’s nonsense right now.

They were walking for what seemed like it could’ve been hours. And the worst part was that it kept getting dark until they had been washed in complete darkness.

It sort of reminded Davey of when they had gotten lost in the caves in Santa Fe. With Jack leading them down the twists and turns of the underground cave. Davey got lost in that memory and accidentally squeezed Albert’s hand gently.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“I don’t know. You were the one who pulled my hand, Davey.”

Davey tensed up. “Don’t call me that.”

“If you’re gonna have that kinda attitude, this is gonna be a real long day, Davey.”

“A long day you won’t live to see if you keep calling me that.” He really wasn’t in a mood to be dealing with Albert.

“Geez, okay, okay. I won’t call ya that anymore.” He pulled Davey down a sharp turn. “Anyway, we should be almost there. Once we get there, we gotta be careful, okay? Racer ain’t gonna let up so easy, so be ready to use that sword of yours.”

“Okay…”

It was silent for a while until it was Albert who spoke up.

“So, how’re you gonna do it?”

Davey blinked. “Do what?”

“How’re you gonna kill Kronos? Today is kinda the day we gotta do it. It’s all or nothin’.”

“Oh, that,” Davey said. “I was just going to try to talk to Jack.”

Albert let out a laugh that rang out through the darkness. “Funny joke. You’re gonna _talk_ to him! That’s a laugh! But seriously, what’s the plan?”

“That wasn’t a joke,” Davey said in an irritated manner. “That’s what I’m going to do.”

Albert stopped laughing. He squeezed Davey’s hand and seemed to stiffen very suddenly. “You’re… you’re bein’ serious? That’s what you’re gonna do? I excepted somethin’ a bit more… ya know… action packed.”

Davey rolled his eyes. “Sorry to disappoint,” he said monotonously.

Albert let out a groan. “Well, I hope you know what you’re doin’…”

_Me too_ , he thought with a shudder.

-

It took a while for Albert to stop and say they were finally there. Albert climbed up and tried to the lid with no luck.

“Give me a hand here, David.” He grunted again as he tried to opened the lid again.

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“I don’t know. Use your water bending skills or something. Like Avatar or whatever it is you did last time,” Albert responded.

Davey held out his hand. He took in a deep breath and willed the water underneath them to explode upwards, knocking the lid straight off the ground. Unfortunately, the water came splashing down on them, soaking them in disgusting water.

“Gee thanks, Dave. This is just how I wanted to spend my last day alive.”

“Shut up,” Davey said through gritted teeth. “I’m still getting used to this.”

Albert climbed out of the sewer onto the street. Davey trailed begins him and stopped. Something seemed off.

For New York being a city that never sleeps, everything seemed ominously quiet.

The streets were completely empty, lights were off, and weirdest of all… there seemed to be no life anywhere to be seen. And since it was still fairly dark outside, it felt like some kind of apocalypse had struck.

Albert seemed to notice this as well. The redhead glanced around as if looking for signs of life. He laughed nervously. “Where- where is everyone?”

Davey put a hand on the other boy’s shoulder. He felt how tense Albert was. “I don’t know. Fine hopefully. We can’t worry about that, right now. We have to find Les.”

Albert just nodded. He led Davey down a sidewalk that led them to a part of town where the buildings seemed smaller and much less modern looking than the ones they’d passed a lot earlier.

Albert held a hand out to stop them. He mentioned for them to cross the street and hide in a small alleyway. He nodded toward a building that looked much older than the ones around it.

“There it is. That’s the place,” he said.

Davey looked across the street. The building was tall and could easily blend in with the others around them. The only thing is that it looked older with a sort of look that said it hadn’t been used in a while.

Davey looked down. He bit his bottom lip and grabbed the sword it’s sheath. He dragged it along the ground, drawing stick figures in the dirt.

“Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do,” Davey said in a hushed tone. He pointed to two stick figures with the end of his blade. “This is us. Since we can’t just walk in through the front door, we’re going to have to use a different entry point.” He circled one figure. “ _You_ are going to do that thing you used last time with the glowing mark thingy and climb up the side of the building. Once you scale it, you’ll be able to go in through above. Got it?”

The redhead nodded. “Mm-hm. What are you gonna be doin’ while I’m going through all this?”

Davey scratched out the plans. “I’m going from below. Back through we’re we came. We’ll reconvene on the third floor. Got it?”

“Yup.”

Davey nodded. “Okay… and if anything happens, just yell for help. I’ll come get you.”

“Got it.” Albert turner and left.

Davey went back the way they came. He climbed down and tried heading in the direction the building was. He let his hand run along the wall to lead himself through the darkness.

Finally, he figured he must’ve been under the building and willed the water to burst upward. He created a hole in ceiling and climbed through. He looked around the place and felt a strange sensation full his chest.

He… he had seen this place before. In a dream. This was where he had seen Les. He looked around the dark room.

He stood up and walked around the room. “Les? Les, are you here?”

He could’ve sworn he had seen Les here in one of his dreams. He called for him again. “Les? Race? Hello?”

No response.

The room was empty. Completely empty. No one seemed to be here.

He felt his hands shake. “Les…” Gods, what if… No, no he couldn’t think like that.

He had to be fine. He had to be. They wouldn’t have stopped as low as to… get rid of him, would they?Or maybe they moved him? Did they know they were coming for Les?

Suddenly, he heard a voice call out.

“Dave!”

Davey’s heart thumped against his rib cage. That wasn’t Albert calling him. That was a kid’s voice. A young boy. Les…

“Les?” He called out. He climbed the stairs.

“Dave! Dave, I-” He was cut off.

Davey ran faster. “Les?! Les, where are you? Oh gods…”

“David!” His voice was closer.

Davey ran in the direction of the voice. He climbed another flight of stairs. “Les, I’m here!”

He looked around and noticed a dim light coming from one of the rooms. He slowly made his way over and drew his sword, ready for battle.

He peeked inside but saw nothing.

He opened the door to the room, his sword raised. But, no one was there. No one, but a familiar young boy.

Davey felt his heart swell. He let out a sigh of relief. “Les… Oh my gods, Les it’s you.”

His tense shoulders fell when he saw the older boy. Les looked slightly relieved.

“Dave…it’s actually you.”

Davey felt tears threatened to fell from his eyes. “You’re safe. Did they hurt you?”

The younger kid stood up. “Nothing too bad.” He looked like he wanted to run toward his older brother and hug him, but something stopped him. He looked scared again and took a step back.

“Dave, you have to leave! Get out of here!”

“Wh-what?” Davey took a few steps forward. “Les, what’s wrong?”

He put his hands out. “You can’t come any closer! Dave, you gotta get out of here! He knew you were coming! He’s still here!”

Davey brought up his sword again. “Don’t worry. I’m not here by myself. I have someone helping me. Race doesn’t stand a chance.”

Les shook his head. “No, not him. Race isn’t here. It’s someone else.”

Davey sighed. “Stop being so vague. Tell me what’s going on! Who’s here, Les?”

As Davey finished his sentence, he noticed Les flinch. He slid against the wall and sat down. He looked up at Davey shaking.

Davey tensed up as he felt a cool breeze on his back. But before he could turn around, a sharp pain traveled up his backend to the rest of his body, and he was knocked flat on his chest. The dark sword clanged to the floor and out of the demigod’s reach.

A shadow loomed over him.

Davey turned to stare up at the figure.

The shadowy figure stood over him. The only thing he could see were the ominous golden eyes gleaming with amusement and a grin with white teeth bared like a wolf ready to pounce.

“Hey, Davey.”

Davey’s hair stood on end. He turned to his back and slid away to get a better look.

“Long time, no see, huh doll?”

Davey sat up. “Jack.”

He felt a cold hand on the part of his back that had been hit. Les ran his hand over his back. “Dave, you’re bleeding...”

Davey looked up at the son of Hades. He almost had to do a double take. Jack looked… different.

His worn down hoodie, faded jeans, and overall casual aesthetics as gone. He wore an outfit that reminded Davey of something that resembled Hades outfit. It was a black button up shirt with a dark coat looked the slightest bit too big for him. To match, he had a pair of black pants with tennis shoes that seemed to be a darkish green color.

His hair was still messy the way it usually was though, which was, in a weird way, endearing to Davey.

Davey looked down and covered his face.

Then, it hit him.

“This was a set up, wasn’t it? You had this all planned out. You sent Albert to bring me here to kill me, didn’t you?”

The other shrugged. “Actually, this was a coincidence. When Al didn’t come back, I knew you had to be alive.” He reached into the darkness and pulled out a pure black sword. “I knew Al couldn’t handle it. He was bound to crack since day one. Racer should be dealin’ with him right about now.”

Davey reaches back and fumbled for his sword, but another pain shot from his wound. He grunted. He rested himself on his elbow. “What now? You’re just going to kill me in front of my little brother? Seems a little unceremonious for what’s been built up.”

Jack smiled. His dark eyed flashed a golden color.

He slowly walked over to Davey as though he savoring every moment before the deed was done. He stopped in front of the son of Neptune and knelt down. He turned his sword over and raised Davey’s chin with the hilt of his sword. He lowered his voice and spoke in a smooth voice.

“Ya know… I’ve always liked you. You’re real cute, ya know that?” Davey felt his face grow warm and noticed Jack’s smile. “So, my offer still stands, doll. Help me take down the gods. We can rule together.” He lowered his sword and brought up his free hand to cup Davey’s cheek. He let his thumb caress the other’s cheek.

Jack brought his face closer to Davey’s and let his knees rest on either side of Davey’s waist. He released his sword and used his now free hand to place it gently on Davey’s chest.

“Come on, Davey…” His voice was a hushed tone now. “Be my king.”

Davey bit his bottom lip. He knew he must’ve been completely red but tried to ignore it. He shakily brought up one hand and pressed Jack’s hand to his chest.

“Jackie… You need to stop this. This isn’t right.”

Jack’s smug smile he had only seconds previously twisted into a frown. He shook his head. “Have it your way.” He dug his nails into the side of Davey’s cheek until Davey felt him penetrate the skin. And in one swift motion, he swiped his hand along his face.

Davey pushed Jack off and held up his hand to his cheek. It was throbbing in pain. All the way from the bottom of his cheek to eye. He looked over at Jack, who was already on his feet and picking up his sword. He was saying something under his breath.

“Say goodbye to your brother, kid!” He brought the weapon down, but Davey jumped out of the way and picked up his own weapon.

Their swords met, a loud clang of metal ringing through the air. Davey lunged toward the demigod, trying to keep him away from Les.

Jack easily stepped to the side. Davey slashed at him over and over again. He couldn’t seem to land a hit. His head was still reeling, and he was slightly dizzy from whatever that was Jack tried to pull on him.

Jack had a smirk on his face as he easily blocked Davey’s attacks. He moved swiftly for someone wearing such fancy attire.

Davey looked back at Les quickly and noticed how he had curled in on himself. He let out a puff of air and went at Jack again. He couldn’t let Les get hurt. He couldn’t let Jack win this.

He just had to stick to what he had originally planned.

“Jackie,” Davey said, “can’t we just sit down and talk about this?”

The son of Hades reached into the dark and created what looked like throwing stars out of shadows. “Let me think ab- No!” He shot them in Davey’s direction.

Davey ducked to avoid the weapons. He tightened his grip on his weapon. “Please! Listen to me! You don’t have to do this! Jack, what do you think Crutchie would’ve said about all this?”

Jack stopped mid swing.

Got him.

Davey took a few steps forward. “Think about it… do you really think he’d want this?”

The look on his face was unreadable. His hands shook vigorously. “I- Don’t say his name…” He looked like he was ready to cry again.

Davey lowered his weapon. “Look, it’s okay,” Davey said gently. “He would’ve wanted you to make this right. He was family, right?”

It looked like he might’ve been getting through to him.

Davey walked forward and let his hand rest on Jack’s shoulder. “It’s okay to feel angry, Jackie. We all don’t like our godly parent. But, your dad told me-”

The fury automatically returned to Jack’s eyes. He dropped his weapon in favor of grabbing Davey directly by the neck and pushing him against a window.

“What did you say?! What did you just say?!” His voice was full of a sort of rage Davey had never seen before.

“I-”

“Say that again! I dare ya!”

His grip tightened on Davey’s throat. Davey couldn’t speak.

Jack shook his head angrily. “I have the right of mind to throw ya down into the streets of this stinkin’ city.” He seemed to consider it.

In the heat of the moment, Davey kneed Jack in the stomach but that made his grip stronger.

Jack’s eyes glowed yellow. He looked ready to finish this once and for all. He kicked the window and shattered it to bits. His grip tightened as he got closer to the edge of the building.

Just when it couldn’t get any worse, Jack used his other hand to motion at the ground and a giant crevice opened ready to swallow Davey up.

He looked Davey dead in the eyes and whispered. “Ain’t this a turn of events? You wanna make any last noises before I throw you outta here.” He didn’t wait for a response. “Say hi to pa again this time, huh? ‘Cause he seems to like you more than me apparently.”

Well… this was just about the stupidest thing Davey had ever done.

He grabbed Jack’s sleeve and pulled him down with him.

Jack released him as they fell. He made another hand motion at the ground. This time vines seemed to sprout from the pavement to catch him.

Well, two could play at that game. Davey did the same thing, but this time groundwater came to his aid. He looked over to see the other talking to himself once again. What was up with that?

He gasped for air and coughed. He also managed to catch a glimpse of himself in a window’s reflection.

He had what looked like claw marks cut deeply into his face, his skin looked raw and completely red. His shirt also had a a few blood stains on it.

He shook his head and focused on the other.

“Jack,” he called, “listen to me! It’s not like that! Hades just told me that he misses y-”

“Spare me the damn sentiment!” Jack practically screeched back. “I don’t need him! I never have!”

“I never said you did! You see this sword? He gave it to me to-”

Once again, Jack interrupted him. “You gotta learn to shut the hell up!” He manifested a dark sword. He had a crazed look about him. “I get it! I ain’t nothing! It’s people like _you_ who’re always gonna be rewarded with crap like that! And me? I’m nothing! I’m the villain of this story, David! But for once, _for once_ , I wanna do something right!”

Davey felt his heart sink. He slowly made his way over to the other. “Jack, I’m so sorry… I didn’t…”

Jack grabbed his arm. The scythe marking on his collarbone began to glow a dim golden color, his eyes glowing a matching color. His grip on Davey tightened. He took in a breath and spun Davey around, then throwing upward.

He jumped up and kicked Davey onto the roof of a nearby building.

Everything hurt. He could hardly move and when he did, it hurt. He let out a whimper that sounded like a hurt puppy.

So, this was it? This was how it ended? At the hands of someone he once called a friend. Someone he once… he was liked. Liked in a sense that was possibly more than a friend.

Maybe everyone was right. He should’ve killed Jack when he had the chance. It was too late now.

He lost.

Jack was now looming over him. His sword was raised, ready to strike him down.

Davey closer his eyes as he awaited the final blow.

He waited. And waited… but it never came.

He opened his eyes and noticed how Jack hadn’t moved from his position. His hands were shaking violently. His breathes were shallow.

Jack shakily lowered his sword. He sheathed it and wiped at his eyes.

“I can’t do this.”.

“Jackie, I-”

_“Shut up!”_

Davey gasped. He watched as Jack took a few steps backwards, his hand grasping at his hair. From the look in his eyes, he seemed to be having conflicting thoughts.

He looked from his sword to Davey and back. He took in a shaky breath. “No, not now… Not like this…”

He blinked a few times before his eyes returned to normal, darkened state. He gave Davey one last look before speaking to him one last time. “You’re lucky you’re you. Get outta here, and take Al. I won’t stop ya, but the next time we meet, I ain’t gonna hold back. Next time, I ain’t leavin’ until I got a new set of red paints.”

Davey stood up, his knees wobbling. “Jack, wait!”

He disappeared into the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, I’ve been waiting to write this chapter for a while, and I think it came out alright :3 More fight scenes and angst on the way!  
> Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


	21. Useless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Jack and Les interactions plus some more angst for y’all. Also, Race is here. Hehe :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter from Jack’s POV? More likely than you think. And ooooh boy, have I got a good one for you guys!

“Get over here, kid!”

Jack yanked the young boy by his arm harshly.

Les squirmed, trying to escape his iron grip. “No! Let go of me!” He pulled his arm in a fruitless effort to escape.

Jack let out something of a low growl. He pulled the kid violently along with him as he walked.

After that whole fight with Davey and shadow traveling the three of them across town, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with this kind of stuff. He was tired. He felt weak.

“Hey, Jackie Boy, might wanna be careful with the kid,” a nervous voice said. “He- he ain’t exactly done anything.”

“I know what I’m doin’, Racer!” Jack snapped. He turned around to face the blonde boy.

“But this is a kid. He ain’t done nothing,” Race responded. He put his hands on his hips. “If yer gonna hurt an innocent mortal kid, you’re takin’ it too far.”

Jack glared at Race. He took in a breath. “He ain’t hurt. Look at him. He’s fine, right kid?”

Les looked up at him. He kicked his shin. “I’m not fine. I want to go home,” Les said angrily.

“See, he’s fine.” Jack ran a hand through his hair.

Race walked in front of Jack, blocking his path. He stretched out his arms. “Slow down there, Cowboy,” he said. “You gotta slow down. You’ve been going nonstop for days now. I think it’s startin’ to get to ya. ‘Cause you used to love kids and treat them right. Now, yer treating Les like some kinda rag doll. What’s goin’ on with you?”

“Nothing. I’m fine,” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had a huge headache.

Les looked from Race to Jack. “Kronos, right?”

Jack and Race both turned their attention to the kid. “What?” They said in unison.

“You… you mentioned someone named Kronos. That he was telling you what to do, right? You said he was talking to you,” Les said slowly.

Jack grit his teeth. He tightened his grip on Les’s arm.

Race looked over at Jack with a shocked expression. “So, you did it? You actually did it? Jack, what… what is wrong with you?! You let that two timing titan in yer head?! You promised you wouldn’t let it get this-”

“I know what I said!” Jack snapped. “But, it ain’t my fault he sees me as someone useful for once!”

Race recoiled. He was quiet a moment. “Jack… I didn’t know…”

Jack held up a hand to silence him. “It’s fine. I don’t need pity anymore. I’ll never need anyone’s pity after I take the gods down.”

Jack noticed the younger boy shake. He looked down at him and used his free hand to run it through Les’s hair. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Don’t worry, kid. You’ll be fine. After this is all over, you’ll get to go home?”

“What about Sarah and Dave?”

“Sarah maybe. Depends if she don’t get in the way,” Jack murmured his last statement. “We don’t want too many unneeded casualties.”

He noticed Les give him an odd look. “You… you don’t want to hurt them, do you?”

Jack bit his bottom lip and moved his hand to cup the kid’s cheek gently. His expression softened a bit. “It ain’t about what I want. Never is. It’s what the big guy wants.”

For the first time, Les had an expression other than fear. “So, you don’t want to hurt them. It’s an act then?”

Jack bit the inside of his cheek. His grip on Les loosened. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

“I saw the way you talk to my brother. You care about him, don’t you? Even if it’s just a little?”

Jack glanced up at Race, who’s arms were crossed. He licked his lips then sighed. “That’s one way to put it.”

“Jackie Boy,” Race spoke up, “it ain’t too late. You just gotta call this whole thing off.” Race took a step forward.

Jack looked up at him. He shook his head. “No, we’re in the endgame now. No turnin’ back at this point.”

He wiped a tear threatening to fall.

He let go of Les.

“Race, take the kid to Medda. Make sure they’re outta the way when things go down. That’s it. That’s all you gotta do today. Keep Medda and the kid safe, okay?”

Race gave him a look. “Jack…”

“Get outta here before I change my mind. That goes for both of yous!”

“But-”

“Leave!”

Les held onto Race’s arm. Fear returned to his face.

Race nodded. “You got it, Jack.” He took Les’s hand. “See ya after the war.”

Jack didn’t respond.

He turned around.

Jack hugged himself and looked down. He listened as their footsteps disappeared and the door to the room closed. Jack was left in almost complete darkness.

_You should not have done that._

Jack straightened up and adjusted his coat. “Sorry, I just had to get them outta here. They-”

 _You misunderstand me, Francis._ Kronos’s voice filled his ears. _You should have killed the son of Neptune when you had the chance. NOT LET HIM GO FREE!_

Jack flinched at the sudden rage in his voice. He cleared his throat. “Sir, the timing wasn’t right. The others haven’t even-”

_The opportunity was perfect. You just decided not to take it._

Jack bit his bottom lip and used his foot to kick a small rock across the room. “It really wasn’t. I couldn’t do it. You saw him! He coulda come for me!” Jack balled his hands into fists.

_What I **saw** was a helpless, pitiful demigod laying before your feet, ready for death. You could have easily taken care of him right then and there. It’s not that you couldn’t… it’s that you wouldn’t._

Jack felt his hands shook. His whole body was quaking at the sound of the titan’s voice. He tangled his hands in his hair. “I-I’m sorry. Trust me though. Next time, I’m gonna get him. He… he won’t stand a chance, sir.”

A cold, ugly laugh filled his ears. It grew louder and flooded Jack’s ears. He pulled on his hair.

“K-Kronos? If I may ask, what’s so funny?”

The titan’s laugh slowly died down.

_Oh, Francis… you are correct about one thing. Next time, David Jacobs will die._

“Uh-huh.” Jack had a shaky smile. “I promise I-”

_Not by your hands though._

The son of Hades raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? The prophecy said-”

_Well, it will be you, but then again… it won’t. I must thank you for getting me this far Francis, but I can take it from here._

Jack hugged himself tightly. He was shaking more violently at this point. He opened his mouth to speak no words came out.

_You really have a big help. However, I’ve given you a fair few chances, and time and time again I see you are not the ruthless leader I thought a son of Hades to be._

Jack felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. He immediately moved his hands to touch the spot it was aching, but the pain only spread. His head was throbbing.

_You have outlived your usefulness. You’re nothing more than another obstacle to taking down the gods. You’re useless._

Jack fell to his knees. He grunted in pain. The pain had spread down his spine, filling his whole body with a feeling like his inside were being pricked with thousands of needles. He shook more violently.

“P-please…” Jack’s voice came out weak.

Jack felt his body fall to the floor. He was in immense pain. His body started convulsing even worse. Everything was spinning. The room was slowly going dark.

His breaths were slowly growing more shallow.

_Goodbye… Prince of the Underworld._

Jack let out one last breath before he gave into his pain.

Then, he felt nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would ya look at that? More angst, Les, and Race all in the same chapter. Well, this was certainly fun to write! Can’t wait for you guys to see what I have in store for next time! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals!  
> See you next chapter!


	22. Ready As I’ll Ever Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparation for the final battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, I’m sorry about last chapters. Thing got a bit intense, so here’s a bit of a breather (but not really). Enjoy because after this, things are going to be nonstop :3

“Woah, you okay?”

Davey proved himself up on his elbow. He groaned. “Albert? Where have you been?”

He looked up and noticed a few red markings around his wrists like he had been tied down by rope. A few bruises were also painted across his arms.

Albert shrugged it off nonchalantly, but his expression was one was sadness. “Racetrack. He got me good, I’ll tell ya that. But I asked you first, and by the looks of it, you ain’t doin’ so well.” He held out a hand for Davey to take.

Davey reached out but immediately withdrew it when his shoulder cramped up. He let himself fall back and clenched his shoulder tightly.

Albert let out a puff of air. “He got ya bad, didn’t he?”

“No, of course not. Can’t you see I’m the pinnacle of perfectly fine?” Davey shot back sarcastically.

Albert shifted his weight. “Guess that whole talking thing didn’t work out, huh?” He chuckled.

Davey glared up at him. Albert noticed and went quiet. He knelt down next to Davey and ran a hand through his own hair.

“Look, I’m sorry Dave. I really am,” he said in a lower voice. “I’ve known Jack for years and knew he was too stubborn to listen to anything anyone’s gotta say. But…” He sighed. “I was kinda hopin’ you’d be right in this case.”

Davey looked up at him. “It’s a good thing I’m just as stubborn.”

He slowly propped himself up on his elbow. He slowly sat up, looking down at the blood and bruises painted across his arms. He held a hand up to touch the scratch markings Jack left on his face. He flinched and withdrew his hand quickly.

“Mind helping me up though? Everything kind of hurts.”

“Oh, yeah. ‘Course.”

Albert grabbed him from behind and slowly hoisted him to his feet.

Everything started spinning. Davey stumbled forward, but Albert held him steady.

“Yeesh, ya lost a lotta blood,” Albert said in a concerned tone. “There’s a huge gash on yer back. Let’s see if we can get ya to Kath, so she can help ya get patched up.”

Davey just nodded in response.

Albert slung Davey’s arm around his shoulder. Albert’s arm was around his waist and his other was holding Davey’s arm. “Don’t worry, Daves… it ain’t too far from here. I got ya…”

-

It wasn’t long before they came to a building that seemed just as vacant as the others.

The rest was a blur.

He remembered Katherine taking him in her arms and carrying him into a bedroom.

She sat him down on a soft bed and removed his shirt. She left and returned with a towel and a bowl of cold water.

Davey felt a shiver travel down his spine as something cold touched his back.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” Davey said. “I tried talking to him, but he won’t listen. I don’t… I don’t want to hurt him.”

He heard Katherine click her tongue. “I know what you mean. I didn’t think he was that far gone.” She rubbed a cold towel over the wound on Davey’s bare back. “At this point, I’m afraid you might actually have to kill him…” She trailed off.

Davey’s grabbed his sword and forced the tip into the ground. He rested his chin on the hilt. He sighed. “I…I guess I do. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still _try_ to talk some sense into him, right?”

Katherine held the wet towel up over a bruise on his shoulder. Her voice was slightly shaky. “You can try, but the prophecy was right. You two are going to have to fight. Two of you are going in. One’s coming out.” She pressed down.

“Ow!” Davey flinched.

“Oh, sorry. I just… well, I never thought this was how it would end.”

“Jack or us?”

“I don’t know. By the looks of it, he took you down easily.” She gently removed the towel and came around, so she was in front of him. She pressed it against a scratch on his chest.

“That because I wasn’t trying to fight him,” Davey replied. “I don’t think we have time for another test run to see who’s stronger.” He balled his hands into fists. “I don’t know if I can do it at this point…”

Katherine knelt down and cupped his cheek gently. “We’re out of options here, Dave. You’re going to have to kill Jack.” Her lips quivered, and her voice shook as she spoke. “I don’t like it anymore than you do.”

Davey looked down. He sighed and said nothing. He let Katherine take care of his other wounds.

She cleaned the one on his face but squinted her eyes when she finished. She ran the wet towel over it again. “Sorry, Dave. Looks like this one doesn’t want to heal as much as the others.”

Davey held his hand up to feel the scratch marks on his face. Thankfully, they didn’t hurt as much as they previously did. He shrugged. “It’s fine.”

He stood up and stretched. He felt much better than he had only a few minutes ago.

“Any word on where Jack might’ve gone or if there are any demigods we should be looking out for?”

Katherine shook her head. “Not yet. It’s like he disappeared after your fight. And there’s been no sign of Oscar or Morris or any kind of monsters! We can’t be sure what they’re planning…” She bit her lip. “They could come right now, and we’re not prepared.”

Davey picked up his sword. “We’re ready as we’ll ever be. That’s going to have to do.”

Katherine sighed. “I guess your right. If we don’t make it out of this though, it was nice meeting you and your sister. You two are amazing people. I just wish we could’ve hung out more.”

Davey smiled slightly. “Yeah… If we do make it out though, you can count on us visiting Camp Half Blood more often.”

There was a knock on the door. It opened slightly to reveal Specs on the other side.

He was sweating and had a look of worry across his face. “Hey, you guys done in here?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Davey asked.

“I have good news, and I got bad news. Which one first?”

Davey and Katherine looked at each other. Katherine shrugged. “Uh, we could really use some good news.”

Specs opened the door more. He leaned against the doorway. “Well, we don’t gotta worry about mortals getting hurt. Blink told me that some Hypnos kids put a sorta spell on them to make sure they don’t get in the way.”

Davey nodded. “What’s the bad news?”

“Actually, I still got some good news. I got a phone call. One from Race.”

Katherine took a few steps forward. “What did he say?”

“He said that Dave’s little brother was with him. That they was safe.”

Davey felt himself let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “R-really? Les is safe?”

Specs nodded. “Mm-hm. They’re fine.”

Davey felt a sort of relief fill him. But why would Race let them know that…?

The relief was short lived. Davey crosses his arms. “What’s the bad news?”

Specs scratched his neck. “Well,” he sighed, “we finally got sight on the enemy. But you ain’t gonna like it.”

“What is it?”

Specs gave one more nervous glance. He adjusted his glasses. “There’s a whole bunch of demigods headed this way. Oscar’s leading them. And they ain’t just Greek. Nah, there are _Roman_ demigods too.”

Davey picked at his fingernails. “Is that all?”

“A few gorgons and furies too.”

Davey was afraid to ask. “Is _that_ all?”

Specs shook his head. “Titans. Not all of them, but they got Oceanus, Prometheus, Atlas and Hyperion.”

“So to put it lightly,” Katherine said, “we hardly stand a chance.”

“We don’t know that,” Davey said. “What if the gods help us?”

Specs shook his head. “No sign of movement. We’re on our own out there. It’s us, a few centaurs, satyrs, Chiron, and… that’s it. There aren’t too many demigods. We got 30, maybe 40 demigods on our side.” Specs shook his head. “To sum it up: we are _screwed_.”

Davey bit his thumb.

Maybe he wouldn’t even need to fight Jack. These monsters and demigods would do him in before he could even make it to him.

No, right now wasn’t the time to give up. Right now was what they had been waiting for. Right now was when they had to go all in. All or nothing.

Davey rolled his shoulders back. “We might fail, but we have to try. What’s the point of giving up now when we’ve come this far?”

Katherine put a hand on her hip. “You’re right. If I’m going down, I’m going down fighting.”

“‘Course we are,” Specs said.

Davey nodded. “I need you to find Sarah, and tell her to bring what left of the demigods to lower Manhattan. We’re going to need all the help we can.”

“You got it. Before I go…” Specs moved across the room and opened one of the drawers on a dresser. He dug through until he found an orange shirt that said ‘Camp Half Blood’ on it.

He tossed it to Davey. “Here,” he said. “You’re one of us now, Roman. Also, your other shirts got a bunch of holes in it, and you need something to wear.”

Davey clutched the shirt in his hand. “Thanks.”

Specs left.

Davey turned to Katherine. “Who’s apartment is this?”

“Oh, it’s Specs’s room. I come over a lot to study during school. He’s technically my half brother since he’s also a kid of Athena.”

“Oh, okay.” He slipped the shirt on.

Katherine grabbed his arm. “Come on. Let’s go win this fight.”

Davey grabbed his sword and followed Katherine out of the building. When they were outside, he noticed his reflection in a window.

He had three long scratch marks as though a cat had slashed its claws across his face. They were slightly faded, so, at this point, it was just the pink markings of his raw skin.

He tried not to think about it as he followed Katherine through alleyways and empty streets. Finally, they were in the empty streets of lower Manhattan.

Davey looked off into the distance and saw the silhouettes of the opposing forces. There were a lot more demigods than Davey had seen at Camp Half Blood. Monsters were mixed in with them. And the gigantic silhouettes of the titans the size of buildings. All of them, seemed to be headed straight toward them.

Katherine unsheathed her own celestial bronze sword. Davey raised his.

Every ounce of common sense told him to get the hell out of there. But he couldn’t. Like Katherine had said: If they were going to die, then they were going to die fighting.

They were still a fair distance away, but Davey was absolutely horrified. He glanced over at Katherine.

She glanced up at him. “We got this. Specs and Chiron should be here soon.” She looked in the direction of the Empire State Building. “I wouldn’t count on the gods coming though. They always let demigods do the hard work for them.”

“I hope you’re wrong about that,” Davey muttered.

_Come on_ , he thought. _Come on Hades. If you want to protect your son, now would be a good time to do it._

“Well, if it isn’t the son of Neptune? And a daughter of Athens too. Isn’t that cute?”

Davey instantly turned to where the voice was coming from.

He noticed Oscar leaning against a building in an alleyway. He stood up straight and walked in front of the two of them.

“And here I thought your parents hated each other,” he said.

Katherine pulled her hair into a quick ponytail. “Just because our parents hate each other, doesn’t mean we do.”

He held a hand to his chest. “A sweet sentiment honey, but that’s not gonna help you today.” He held out a long sword, half celestial bronze, half iron. “Ain’t gonna help your little brother either.”

Davey took a step forward. “What are you talking about?” He decided not to bring up Race.

“Yeah, Dave. We got your brother. Once I kill you and your sis with this sword, I’m gonna use it to kill your brother with the same one. It was made to take out demigods _and_ mortals after all.”

He was bluffing. He had to be. Race told Specs that Les was safe. But what if that was a lie? He wasn’t sure what to believe at this point.

“You don’t really think you’re going to win, do you?” Katherine asked, glaring at him.

“Let me see… It’s us-” He pointed at the army that was closer than ever now. “-against you two. I can just take you two down right now if I wanted to.” He raised his sword, ready to charge at them.

Davey and Katherine raised their swords.

Then, Oscar was down.

Struck right in the head by a large shield. He fell to his knees.

“See, I told you that would work!” Sarah jumped up behind Davey and wrapped her arms around him.

She let go and picked up her shield, then ran back to them. “What did I tell you? It works!”

Davey smiled. “Oh thank gods, I thought we were actually going to have to do this on our own!” He slung an arm over her shoulder.

Sarah returned the smile. “You can thank me for saving your butt later. After we finish this fight.”

“How are you so sure we’re going to win?”

She chuckled. “Dave, we’ve been able to get through everything that’s been thrown at us these past few days. I think we can handle a few evil demigods. Right, Darcy?”

A teenager around their age with dark brown hair and circular glasses came up on Davey’s other side. “I mean, maybe.”

Davey turned to her and gave her questioning look.

“Oh, that’s Darcy. We hung out while I was evacuating the demigods. He’s pretty chill,” she shrugged.

Someone came up behind Darcy and slapped the back of his head. “Not maybe, idiot. We totally got this.”

Blink came up behind him in full armor. He had a sword in one of his hands.

Albert joined them, standing next to Sarah. He just nodded. “It’s been nice knowin’ you guys.”

“Here, Here,” Specs said.

Davey let go of Sarah and turned around.

A the demigods from Camp Half Blood were armed and ready for battle. Behind them, were centaurs with bows and arrows and a few satyrs.

Davey felt his grip loosen on his sword.

Maybe, just maybe they did have a shot at winning.

Oscar was on his feet again, rubbing his head. He let out something that sounded like a growl. “That’s it. You still can’t beat us, son of Neptune. We have titans on our side.” He had a smug smile. “Unless you got another ace up your sleeve, we already won.”

“I mean, I would count on it, but if you say so, kid,” a familiar voice said. Right in front of them, a much taller man landed. He held a golden staff with two snakes at the top of it.

Oscar took a step backwards. “And who are you supposed to be?”

The man ran his hand through his brown curls. “Hermes, god of messengers. I would’ve thought you’ve heard of me. I mean… you’re kinda launching an all out attack on my family.”

“Dad…” Davey heard Albert whisper in something of amazement.

“Speakin’ of,” Hermes said. “They’re here to whip your butts too.”

“Doubt it.” Oscar rolled his eyes.

As if on cue, a man taller than him with sandy blonde hair and bright brown eyes landed next to him. “What do the kids say these days? ‘Ok boomer.’ Yeah, you’re going down, kid.”

Hermes pat the other god’s back. “Good attempt, Apollo. Not right, but nice try.”

The ground underneath them. Davey smiled when he knew who it must’ve been. When he saw the ground break open and a dark chariot emerge the ground with pale man sporting black eyes that resembled his son’s, he smiled. Next to him was a woman with tan skin and brown curls wearing a green dress. He glanced at Davey and gave a small nod.

Finally, another man, that was even taller than the first two, came up behind them. He green eyes that Davey knew all too well. His voice was a smooth deep sort of voice. “Nice of you to join us, brother.”

Hades rolled his eyes. “You didn’t think I’d miss a fight like this, did you Fish Face?”

Davey felt his heart almost stop. He looked at Sarah, who’s eyes were just as wide as his felt. His pulse quickened.

The god smiled down at them but said nothing. But gave them a nod as though confirming what they were both thinking.

At this point, the other army was right behind Oscar, waiting for him to give a signal to attack.

Oscar had the slightest hint of fear on his face. He shook it off and raised a hand.

Davey’s grip tightened on his sword. Okay, it was happening.

_Here we go_.

Oscar smiled and gestured his hand toward them. The demigods behind him all ran towards them.

Davey held out his hand in the same gesture as Oscar.

Everyone went charging.

The battle had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliche ending? Heck yes! But I love those parts of the story when everyone shows up for the final fight! Hopefully, I don’t butcher these last few chapters because this is what I’ve been building up to...  
> Anyway, take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


	23. Bring on the Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a fight y’all!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, heads up y’all! One heck of a chapter coming up! This one is gonna be good!
> 
> WARNING: violence, blood, and some unsettling imagery (sort of). So... be careful with that.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Everything happened in a blur.

All Davey remembered was swords and limbs flying everywhere, screams filling the air, and a sharp pain right in his abdomen.

Everyone was busy with their own battles and moving so quickly that Davey couldn’t see the fury coming right at him.

Davey fell to the ground. He slid back across the concrete and automatically held his sword up to keep the beasts claws away from his face.

The fury tried clawing at his face, but Davey managed to push it away with both hands on his sword. He jumped to his feet.

Man, what was it with people trying to scratch his face so badly?

When the fury came at him again, he hopped out of the way and drove his sword through the monster’s back as it hit the ground. The fury dissolved into golden dust and was soon gone.

A short lived victory because Davey was surrounded by at least 4 other demigods. It was hard to see their faces because they all came at Davey at once. It was a mess of weapons and hands that happened so fast that Davey was almost impaled.

He managed to kick one down, but another grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. He felt two pairs of hands wrap around his arms and the third one scrambled for his legs. The fourth came up and lifted their sword above Davey to strike him.

Davey gasped. He kicked until the one holding his legs let go, then let his legs kick them straight in the face. The sword came down on him. Before it could strike him though, he kicked off the demigod’s face and flipped so he was on his feet again.

He closed his eyes and took in a breath.

Two streams of water burst from the ground to get the two holding his arms to let go. Incidentally though, he lost his sword in the process. It was skidding across the pavement as he brought his arms back and rubbed them hurriedly.

He tried to run over but felt something like a cut on the back of his thigh. He let out a hiss of pain and dropped to his knees.

Davey glanced up and noticed that it was a boy he had seen before. The one named Skittery. He looked like he was trying to concentrate as he tried to slash at Davey again.

Davey ducked. He crawled forward and was about to grab his sword when he felt his leg grabbed. He was dragged back and was held down. A heavy foot stepped on his back.

Davey worriedly looked around only to see everyone else was occupied with their own battles. He was on his own with this one. He tried reaching out to grab his sword, but it was just out of his grip.

He motioned at one of the holes left in the ground and willed a stream of water to hit Skittery. It knocked him right on his stomach, next to Davey.

Davey scrambled for his sword and pointed it at the other demigod.

Skittery got up and held his sword out in front of him. Davey ran at him and their swords made a loud clang as they met.

Davey slashed at him quickly. He managed to land a few hits on the other boy’s forearms. They were now bleeding with deep cuts from Davey’s attack.

Skittery was about to run at him again but was stopped by a voice.

“Take five on this one Skits. I want to be the one to finish him off.”

Skittery slowly lowered his sword. “Yes, Oscar. Of course.” He backed off.

Davey turned around and was met with a swift fist to his face. He stumbled backwards and held his nose. He felt the warm sensation of blood trickle down from his nose. He looked up to see Oscar with his sword in hand, a smug look on his face.

“Might as well get rid of you now. Save us some time, huh?”

Davey felt his breaths come quick and shallow. “No,” he said simply. “No, where’s Jack? I need to fight him.”

Oscar snickered. “None is my business to tell ya. Jack’s-” he did air quotes “-instructions were nice and simple. When the opportunity came up, we would take care of you ourselves.”

Davey thought for a second.

That couldn’t be right. From seeing how he went undercover during their quest to seeing him come for Davey earlier that day, that didn’t seem like Jack’s style of fighting.

He seemed like one to be more involved in the fight. Like he’d take matters into his own hands and take on Davey himself. So why now was he letting others do the dirty work for him?

He didn’t have too much time to think because Oscar was coming at him at full speed.

Before he could do anything, Oscar’s fist collided with his face and he was knocked back.

“What the matter, Dave? Got no one to save you this time, do ya?”

Davey sat up and held his nose. He glared up at Oscar.

Oscar laughed. “For such an important prophecy, I thought you’d put up more of a fight. Come on, Son of Neptune. Get up, and fight me.”

Davey grunted. “Are you asking for me to hurt you?”

“I dare you to _try_.” Held up up his sword and watched as Davey stumbled to his feet. “And I thought you were actually a strong fighter. This’ll be more fun than I thought.”

Davey took in a deep breath and picked up the stygian iron sword. He grit his teeth and tightened his grip. “Will it?”

Without an answer, Oscar charged at Davey again. Davey blocked the sword. He slid backwards though with such a powerful impact. He took a step back. It was his turn to attack Oscar.

He thrust his sword forward to hopefully land a hit. Oscar caught it and swung it so that Davey fell over.

Davey hit his hip on a curb and let out a yelp as the pain spread through his body. He got back up and ran at Oscar. This time he managed to get a cut on the other’s bicep.

Blood spewed out from the long slash, dripping down his arm. As Oscar held his arm, Davey took the opportunity to attack.

He knew he was playing dirty, but this point he didn’t care. He harshly kicked Oscar right where the sun didn’t shine and watched as the larger man stumbled backwards.

“Is this as fun as you imagined it being?” Davey asked walking towards him.

Oscar said nothing. He glared at Davey, and the moment Davey was close enough, he took him by the neck and threw him to the ground. His hand remained on Davey’s throat as he held him against the pavement.

He leaned over Davey with a huge grin on his face. His breaths came out heavy. “You think you’re funny don’t ya? You think you’re clever and all that crap?”

Davey tried prying the man’s hands off his throat to no avail. He shook his head and grasped at his throat 

Oscar put his sword down and pulled a small dagger from his pocket. “I’m going to enjoy every second of this. Listening to cry for your dumb sister as I cut out your stupid little throat. Watching the life drain from your eyes as you bleed out.”

Davey kicked again, but nothing came out of it. His eyes darted everywhere to see if maybe he could find someone to help him. But everyone was occupied at the moment. Some laying on the ground, possibly lifeless.

He noticed Sarah and Darcy fighting a cyclops a few feet from him. Even if he could get them to help, he couldn’t say anything.

Oscar looked in the direction Davey was staring. He smirked so wide his canine teeth were on display. “Oh you want your sister? Don’t worry. She’ll be joining you real soon, Dave. I’m gonna do the same thing to her that I’m about to do to you. And you’re little brother too. I don’t gotta worry about your friends though. They’ll die at the boss’s hands.” He brought the dagger down to Davey’s throat.

Davey flinched he felt cool metal touched his skin.

He wasn’t going down. Not like this.

Davey brought his hands up to stop Oscar from cutting any deeper. They struggled until he managed to lift Oscar’s arm away from his neck.

“You… are not… going to hurt my friends,” he choked out. He slapped the dagger from Oscar’s hand. He reached out and found the hilt of his sword. At that, Davey grabbed it and did something he really didn’t expect to work.

He stabbed him right in the eye.

Right in his eye socket. It didn’t go too deep but just enough to cut cut through the eyeball. Blood squirted through the socket.

Oscar let go of Davey and screamed out in pain.

Davey stood up and took in a deep breath. “Sarah!” He called as he watched her prod at the lifeless monster, now covered in blood, she was previously fight.

Sarah turned to him and ran over. “What’s up?”

“Hold him down for me!”

Sarah happily obliged and grabbed the larger man’s arms, trapping them behind his back. Davey helped her bring him to his knees. He lifted Oscar’s chin with the tip of his sword.

“Not so fun when the tables are turned… is it?” Davey said in almost growling manner.

Oscar laughed, thick red liquid pouring down his face. “You think you’re all high and mighty _now_ … Just you wait…” He laughed again.

Davey’s grip tightened, and his hand shook. “What are you talking about?”

“I might be on my deathbed, but my death won’t be in vain. Even as we speak he grows stronger…”

Davey growled. “I’m tired of everyone… _being so vague!_ ” His anger got the better of him and he brought his sword back.

In one quick motion, he drove the weapon straight through Oscar’s abdomen.

The man’s eyes widened in shock. He didn’t bother even looking down at the sword that was still lodged in his midsection.

Davey noticed Sarah’s eyes widen. She let go of Oscar and took a few steps back. As she did, Oscar let his hands slump to his sides. He looked up at Davey, his one eye empty of any and all emotion. It was easy to see the life slowly draining from him.

Davey removed his sword slowly. “Where is Jack?”

Oscar opened his mouth but only coughed up blood. He leaned forward, his head hanging low. “Olympus…” His voice was weak. “Figured no one would be there, so he took the chance to take it… Kr-Kronos… he’s bringing him back…”

“What else do we need to know? Any traps?”

Oscar had a tired look on his face. “… No idea. He’s by himself though…”

Davey rested the sword on his shoulder and let out a sigh. “That’s all we needed.”

Sarah walked up to him. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Hm?”

“We can’t just leave him like that! He’s half dead!”

“Oh, yeah. You’re right.” He turned to Oscar and knelt beside him. He grabbed his hair to make him look him in the eyes. “Say hi to Crutchie for me, will you?”

Davey slashed the boy’s throat. He turned around. The only thing he heard was a soft thump of flesh hitting the ground. Then, the rest of his body followed. “There,” Davey said grimly. “Now we can be sure he’s not alive.”

Sarah opened her mouth to say something but closed it and looked away. She wrung her hands nervously. “Boy…that was intense… I never- he…wow…”

Davey used his shirt to wipe Oscar’s blood from the sword. “We need to find Katherine. She’ll be able to help us.”

Sarah followed him, not sayings anything about the events she witnessed. They found Katherine helping Specs out in a fight. Davey managed to pull her aside and explain what they were going to do.

“You think you can hold off any monsters while Sarah and I find Jack?”

“Can do,” she said, panting. She wiped sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. ”Specs! You’re in charge while we got the Empire State Building!”

The other boy gave a thumbs up and continued what he was doing.

The three of them dodged fights and ran past everyone. They had to get there soon before Jack could do anything stupid. Well, stupider…

So, off they went to Mount Olympus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol Davey just killed man.  
> Also, there’s only 5 five chapters left y’all! Can’t believe we’re almost done with this fic!  
> Anyway! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!


	24. Unlikely Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unlikely allies join the battle!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too much to say except uhh more stuff goes down! It’s fun! This is a fun one :3
> 
> WARNING: The usual violence.

“Slow down!”

Davey was hardly listening. His mind was going a hundred miles an hour trying to figure everything out. So many questions and words buzzed in his head. He dragged the stygian iron sword on the ground as he quickly walked.

_So, was this what Jack planned? Did he want Davey to come find him? Did he want him to come alone? Maybe he should have come alone?_

“David!”

Sarah ran in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Slow down! Slow down for a sec.” She planted her feet on the ground, and Davey let himself be stopped.

Katherine came up behind them. “Do you even know where to go?”

Davey sighed exasperatedly. “In a sense. Direction wise? No. Do I know what it looks like? Mostly.”

Sarah took her hands of her brother and put them on her hips. “So your plan is to wander the streets of New York until it shows itself?”

“Ideally.”

“Let Katherine show us the way. She’s lived here her whole life. Let her lead the way.”

Davey shifted his weight. “Ugh, fine. We need to get there quick. Jack’s already there as we speak.”

Katherine chuckled. “Don’t worry. I can get us there quick. Come on, Spot Jr.”

Sarah laughed. She took Davey’s hand. “Come on, idiot. Just because you brutally killed a man, doesn’t mean you gotta act all serious. Don’t be a Spot.”

Davey rolled his eyes. “The world is about to end and you want me to be not be serious about that?”

Sarah punched his arm. “No. Just deal with this the way David would, not the way anyone else would. Come on.”

Davey followed her and Katherine around a few corners. His mind still going everywhere. It was everywhere but where he actually needed it to be.

He thought about what he was going to have to face when he got to Olympus. The fact that he literally just murdered someone was still being processed. And that he didn’t know where Les was. Or how Kronos was going to rise soon. Or that—

“Stay back!” Katherine whisper-yelled. She held a hand out to keep the twins back.

Davey shook his head. He looked up to see what Katherine was staring at. He took a step back. “Oh my gods…”

“Is that a hydra?” Sarah asked. She leaned forward to get a better look. “I’ve never seen one up close.”

“Me neither,” Davey muttered.

“I saw one when a few years back on a quest,” Katherine said. “But Jack, being the impulsive idiot he is, thought it was a good idea to cut off on of the heads.”

Davey felt a small smile on his lips. “Oh wow.” He shifted his weight. “So, here’s what we’re going to do. Obviously not that. We don’t need anymore heads growing. We’re going to cross the street quickly and quietly to ensure we don’t have to fight it. Got it?”

The girls nodded. Davey let Katherine lead the way across the street into another alleyway. Thankfully, the hydra didn’t notice them. But… Unluckily for them, another monster was lurking on the following street. It was a chimera.

And this time, they were spotted right away by the snake tail.

Katherine unsheathed her sword and attacked the creature.

“The plan- You know what? Forget it,” Davey brought up his sword and ran toward the monster as well. They were spotted, so might as well get rid of it.

Katherine landed a hit right in the chest, but it must not have cut deep enough because it just howled in pain and threw her back. Davey ran forward and managed to catch her.

“Good try, but we might have to hit it harder,” he said as he put down on her feet. He saw Sarah using her dagger to cut its legs. It didn’t do much damage, but it made for a perfect distraction.

“Now!”

Him and Katherine charged at it, ready to pierce its heart. But then, Davey was met with a massive tail that smacked him straight in the face. He hit to pavement and skid backwards. He sat up and rubbed the now raw skin on his elbows.

Katherine landed next to him. She rubbed the back of her head and uttered a few curse words. She was back on her feet quickly, ready to fight. She held out a hand to help Davey up.

Davey stood up, his arms still burning from being thrown across concrete. He noticed that the tail hadn’t come from the hydra they were fighting. It was from the hydra they managed to avoid. Damn it…

Now, they had two monsters on their case! Davey didn’t have time for this! He needed to find Jack!

Sarah sprinted over and came to a stop next to Davey. “What’s the plan now?”

“Run.”

They tried to run away, but the two monsters were blocking their paths. They were trapped. Looks like they’d have to fight their way out of this one.

Now, it seemed like Davey had to worst luck on the planet. Ever since this quest started, everything pretty much sucked. So, what happened next was a pretty nice surprise.

As the chimera was about to pounce at them, it was thrown into the air and flew across the street, landing on its side with a loud thump.

The three demigods whipped around to see what had sent a hit that strong.

A minivan cane skidding to a stop right in front of them.

Davey let himself smile when the window rolled down.

“Looks like we showed up just in time, huh?”

Katherine ran over with a giant grin. “Medda! You’re here? But how?”

The older woman smiled. “I’ve been dealing with you kiddos for years. You don’t think I know how to keep myself safe from demigod magic?”

Katherine laughed. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“Well, that and I had a bit of help gettin’ that curse broken.”

“Better question,” Sarah said. “ _We_?”

They heard the hydra roar behind them.

Medda motioned you the back seat. “Just get in! I’m gonna get you kids to safety!”

Without hesitation, Katherine, Sarah, and Davey scrambled into the back seats. Davey felt his heart almost stop when he saw who was in the back seat as well.

Sarah let out an audible gasp. “Les! You’re okay!” She practically tackled the nine year old in a hug. She held onto his so tight it looked like his oxygen was being cut off.

“Yeah… I’m fine,” he said in a sort of strangled voice. “Medda and Tony took care of me.”

Sarah loosened her grip. “Tony?”

“Short for Antonio, but you can call me Racetrack. Or Race if you want,” another voice said.

The three of them turned to the passenger seat to see another person in the vehicle with them. The boy turned around with a nervous smile on his face. He gave a small wave.

“Heh, hi…”

There was a moment of silence before Sarah lunged at him and tried to claw at his neck. “You! You were the one that was keeping him prisoner! You’re evil too, aren’t you?!”

Katherine and Medda has to hold her back. Race recoiled and hugged himself tightly.

“Hey! Sit back or we ain’t going nowhere!” Medda threatened. She pushed Sarah back. Katherine had to keep her in her seat.

“I’ll explain later, but we gotta get outta here before we’re monster chow,” Race said hurriedly. “Medda, step on it!”

“With pleasure!” The older woman exclaimed. She reversed the minivan and hit the gas. They drove away at full speed. That didn’t stop the monsters from chasing them though.

Race turned around. “Anyway, nice to meet ya! I’m Racetrack Higgins! Son of Hermes!”

“We know who you are,” Katherine said. “What are you doing here though? I though you were off trying to take down the gods and all that!”

“I was,” Race said, looking down as though ashamed of himself. “But I didn’t think things would be taken _this_ far. I mean, this is a full on war! Gods!” He crossed his arms rested them on the headrest. “I mean, I thought I’d be able to go through with all this, but Jack took it to a whole other level! That dude’s out of his mind!”

“So, what’d that supposed to mean?” Davey asked, looking out the back window. He turned back to Race. “So, we’re just supposed to trust you after everything you’ve done? After kidnapping my brother and holding him hostage? For betraying your own friends?”

Race pursed his lips. “No… You don’t gotta trust me, but let me help you out here.”

Davey felt a tug on his arm. Les was staring up at him. “You need to believe him. I’ve known him for the past few days, and he’s good. He’s trying his best.”

Race smiled. He reached over and ruffled Les’s hair. “Thanks kiddo.”

“Okay, that’s all good, but _why did you have to bring him to a fight?_ ” Sarah raised her voice.

“No one else to watch him.” Race shrugged.

Medda made a sharp turn that made everyone jump. “Sorry, kids. I can’t seem to lose this thing.” She did a full 360 and backed up the van. “Everyone got their seatbelts on?”

They nodded.

“Good.”

She hit the gas. They went full speed forward and hit the monster, sending it flying through the air again.

“Les! Now!”

Race nodded. He pulled out a small satchel and grabbed a green vile from the side pocket. He handed it back to Les.

Les brought it back and flung it right at the chimera. When the vile broke a huge explosion sounded. Green flames went up everywhere, blocking off the road. The hydra wouldn’t be able to catch them now.

Race threw both fists in the air. “Woo! Direct hit, Med! That Greek fire does wonders, don’t it?”

He held his hand up, and Les high-fives it.

“My throwing arm ain’t that good, so great job kid!”

“Good job, Les!” Medda praised.

“Hey, it was my idea to bring it!” Race argued.

“Your point?”

“Am I still grounded?”

“I’ll think about it.” She continued driving. “So, I take it we’re headed to the Empire State Building?”

“Yes!” Katherine, Sarah, and Davey spoke in unison.

“On it! Hold on tight, kids!”

She drove fast, probably breaking at least five traffic laws.

“Still think I shouldn’t have come?” Les asked.

“I think you should be somewhere far, _far_ away from Kronos,” Davey said, putting an arm around him.

“Oh, come on! I can be useful!”

“It’s true… David, right?” Race spoke. “In a battle with demigods, he can be useful. Everyone’s using celestial bronze and stuff like that, and ya know that stuff don’t affect mortals.”

“I don’t think he’d be immune to gorgon claws,” Davey replied. “He belongs at home!”

“Yeah,” Sarah chimed in. “Ma and your Pa are probably worried about you! Imagine if we came home without you! They’ll kill us if the titans don’t first!”

“Won’t they kill you if come back without Dave too?” He had a smug look on his face.

Davey grit his teeth. “Just stay far away from Olympus! You’re mortal! You can get seriously hurt!”

“Don’t worry, Dave,” Medda said. “He’s stickin’ with me. Us mortals gotta stick together, right?”

Les nodded. “Fine, okay.”

“This isn’t your fight anyway,” Davey said. “It’s mine.”

“Then, why is Sarah helping you?”

Davey opened his mouth but closed it again. He…he had a point there.

He was going to have to face Jack alone sooner or later, and the prophecy clearly showed that it was a one on one fight. He was going to have to face Jack alone… without his sister.

He took in a breath. “It doesn’t matter. You’re staying with Medda.”

“Okay,” Les said exasperated.

“And you!” Davey pointed around Race. He sighed. “Just… don’t screw this up.”

Race smiled. “No promises.”

“Well, kids,” Medda announced, “we’re here.” She parked the car.

Sarah looked out the window. “This doesn’t look like the Empire State Building, Ms. Medda.”

“No, ‘course not. It’s still a block away, but I imagine they’ll have something guarding the front entrance. Sorry, but you kids are on your own with that.”

“That’s okay,” Davey said. “Thank you so much, ma’am.”

“A pleasure, sweetie. Just… bring him back, okay?”

Davey nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Katherine, Sarah, and Race piles out of the minivan. Davey hugged Les one last time and bid him goodbye.

“You promise you’ll come back?” Les asked.

Davey stepped out with his sword. He bit his bottom lip. “I promise. Love you, Les.” He closed the door and watched the vehicle drive off.

Race crossed his arms. “So, we headin’ our or what?”

“Yeah, come on guys.”

-

Looks like Medda was right.

There were a few demigods guarding the doors along with gorgons and cyclops. Looks like they’d have to fight their way through again.

“How are we going to get past that?” Sarah asked.

“I still got some Greek fire handy,” Race offered.

“Are you crazy? You want to blow up the whole building?” Davey said. “We still have to get to Olympus somehow. We’re just going to have to fight and hope one of us makes it to the elevator.”

“Preferably you,” Katherine added. “You’re the one who has to fight Jack. None of us are going to stand a chance against a son of Hades.”

“Speak for yourself!” Sarah said. “I’m a daughter of Neptune! I can take him!”

“Yeah,” Davey said. “Sarah and I are doing this together.”

“If you say so.” Katherine shrugged. “So what? We just-”

“Charge!” Race went running into battle.

“That works, I guess,” Sarah said.

The rest of them ran out of their hiding. All the demigods and monsters attacked. Sarah took on a demigod while Katherine helped keep her safe from behind.

Race took on a few demigods on his own. He dodged their attacks and sprang at them. He managed to confuse them and run around them, causing absolute chaos.

Davey was face with a cyclops. He managed to dodge a few hits, but ended up being smacked against a building. He slashed at the leg and made it bleed. He ran past its legs and stabbed it right in the back, but it swatted at him and threw him down.

Davey landed on his stomach and scrambled to sit up. He jumped at it, aiming for the eye but was caught and thrown against a nearby building.

Davey grunted in pain as he stood up. His knees shook, but he stood strong anyway.

He raised his sword. “I’m not afraid of you! Come at me!”

He shouldn’t have said that because the cyclops came charging at him. Davey stood his ground, ready to blow to the monster up with water from the ground.

He was saving that energy for when he had to fight Jack, but in order to do that, he had to survive to actually get to him.

Then, it stopped. The monster stopped running. It fell to it’s knees and disintegrated into golden dust.

“Sarah?” He asked. “Or Katherine?”

A figure emerged from the dust.

Davey squinted. “R-Race?”

“Nope,” a voice said. “I’m the one you should be thankin’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RACE JOINS THE BATTLE! Also a mysterious person that saves this idiot! You’ll see them next chapter! 4 chapters left!  
> Anyway take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See y’all next chapter!


	25. Mount Olympus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which another player joins the battle, and Davey realizes how screwed he might be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, just going to apologize in advance for the ending. You guys are going to freaking hate me.  
> Aaand, the usual warning for violence.

Davey blinked.

He let the dust clear and swiped at the air to fan it away from himself. He coughed. Then, he looked up to watch the figure emerge from golden dust of a disintegrated monster.

Davey blinked again. He was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him. He squinted his eyes. “Spot?”

“Yeah, that’s my name.”

The shorter boy walked over to him and held out a hand to help Davey up. Davey stared at it and stood up himself.

Spot shoved his hand in his pocket. He looked down and cleared his throat. “So…I figured yous might need some help with everything going on and…”

Davey just rolled his eyes. “I guess. Not from you though.” He walked past him quickly.

“Hey.” Spot went after him. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“I don’t believe you.”

Spot sighed. “Look, I really am. I got enough of a brain to admit when I’s messed up. And believe me, there’s a lot I messed up over the years…” He cleared his throat. “But I didn’t come to screw with you, I’m here to help ya fight.”

Davey just let out a puff of air. He didn’t even face Spot.

He was still angry with him. That was an understatement. It was more like he hoped he’d never have to talk to him again. He had hoped he wouldn’t have to see Spot again after this. Sure, he was praetor, but considering he wasn’t even Roman, Davey hoped he’d be seeing less of him.

Maybe Davey was overreacting… but then again Davey had come this far without him. He would handle Jack the way he wanted to.

“Look, I’m sorry. I really am. I ain’t good at apologizing. I ain’t gonna beg you to forgive me, but I’m gonna ask that you let me help ya. ‘Cause right now, yous can use all the help you can get to take care of Jack.”

David bit the inside of his cheek. He hated that he was right. They needed help taking these monsters and demigods down if they were going to get anywhere near the elevator to Olympus.

He turned around. Hesitantly, Davey nodded. “Okay,” he said. “That’s fine. I can forgive you for right now because we _need_ to work together.”

“‘Course,” Spot responded. “I got your back.”

“Good… because we got a few demigods coming at us.”

Spot and him raised their weapons. Davey glanced over at him. His hands shook slightly. He couldn’t believe he was about to say this considering what he did just a while ago. “No one dies. We just need to keep them down or knock them out long enough to get to the elevator.”

Spot nodded with a small smirk. “Oh, don’t worry. I can do knocking out.”

Davey held up his sword and swung at the demigod in front of him. They pulled out a second sword, and caught his strike, making him stumble backwards.

Spot whacked them on the side of the head with his spear, and they fell to the ground. Spot smiled. “See, told ya.”

Davey looked behind him and thrust the hilt of his sword backwards, knocking another demigod back. “Whatever,” he murmured.

He heard an explosion a few feet away.

Davey turned to see giant green flames engulfing half the streets. He shook his head. Gods, Davey should’ve taken that stuff from Race.

“Who the hell’d you let bring Greek fire?!” Spot asked.

“Your boyfriend!” Davey shot back. “He’s not the brightest, is he?”

Spot hesitated a moment. He looked from the green flames to Davey, his expression unreadable. “He is. He just don’t got too much common sense.” He shifted his weight. “But he’s my senseless demigod.”

Davey bit the inside of his cheek. “Then, you better get him before he accidentally kills Katherine and Sarah too.”

He hesitated again before shaking his head. Without another word, he went running through the flames.

Davey gasped. “Spot!” He followed the shorter boy, swiping the flames away with his sword. He slowed down when he exited the fire. “Spot?”

He took a few steps back when he noticed the two boys in a tight embrace. Race’s satchel was on the floor like had dropped everything he was doing just to hug the other. Spot let his weapon drop to his side.

The taller of the two had tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He had his nose buried in Spot’s hair. Spot had his arms around Race like he’d disappear again.

Davey felt like he was intruding on something. He wasn’t sure whether he should leave or…

Spot pulled away from Race. “I missed you, you idiot.”

Race rubbed his eyes and kept an arm around Spot. “I didn’t go anywhere. I’m right here, Sean. I’m here.”

He looked down at the black sword he was holding. He tightened his grip on it and held it close to him.

“And now that you are…” Spot punches him in the stomach, causing Race to stumble. Race coughed and held his stomach. “That’s what you get! That’s what you get for making the stupidest decision of your damn life!”

Race gave a crooked smile. “I love you too, Shorty.”

“What is wrong with you?! Did you know how worried you made me?! Gods, Antonio! What the hell!”

Race stood up to his normal height and put a hand on his hip. “Yet you still came for me. I’m touched.”

“Don’t you be doin’ that again,” Spot said firmly.

“Trust me. I learned my lesson. Things went from zero to a hundred way too fast.” Race brought Spot close.

Spot shook his head, the hint of a smile on his face. “I love you, you idiot.

“Not as much as I do, weirdo,” Race said with a laugh.

Spot sighed. “Idiot,” he mumbled. He grabbed Race’s shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Race seemed to relax a bit.

Davey awkwardly looked away. His eyes traveled down to the black sword he was hold. The one that wasn’t supposed to be his. Jack’s sword. He slowly brought it up and sighed. He held it close to his chest.

He blinked a few times, then cleared his throat.

“I hate to interrupt the reunion, but I need you two to help Katherine fight off all these monsters while Sarah and I make our way to the elevator,” he said.

Spot picked up his spear and took a step away from Race. “Don’t worry. We can handle it, Dave.”

Davey gave him a small smile. “Thanks.” He looked around. “I’m going to go find Sarah.”

Race nodded. He glanced at the other boy. “Come on, Shorty.”

Davey turned from them and ran off.

He found his sister fighting alongside Katherine.

“Sarah!” Davey called.

She turned to face him. “David!” She put her hands on his shoulders. “Dave, what’s wrong?”

“Come on, we need to get to the elevator in the building! We need to get to Olympus quick!”

She nodded. “You got it,” she said. “I’ll help you get there.”

Sarah was by his side. They fought off monsters and demigods with ease.

Davey knee that with Sarah helping him, they’d make it out of this. It’d be a breeze (mostly).

Sarah threw her shield at the window, breaking it into thousands of glass shards. The two of them climbed through the opening and made their way to the elevator. Almost there…

Davey presses the button hurriedly. “Come on. Come on,” he muttered. “Hurry!”

The elevator door opened.

Sarah was about to step in but let out a shrill scream. She fell forward, but Davey managed to catch her before she fell to the ground.

“Sarah, what…” He covered his mouth when he noticed what had happened.

A long, think arrow was sticking out of her leg. He helped her up.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she said in a hoarse voice. She looked down at her leg. “Funny, they missed the Achilles heel by a mile.” She looked back at whoever shot at her. “Better luck next time!”

Davey knelt down and gently touched the arrow. She flinched.

“Ow! David!”

“Sorry!” He got a better look. “It’s really stuck in there…” He glances behind her and noticed a cyclops coming towards the building. “Come on. We’ll get it out in the elevator.”

Sarah looked behind her and gasped. “We’re not going to make it even a few floors up before that thing gets to us!”

“Sure we will!”

Sarah’s hands shook. She didn’t move.

“Sarah, come on!”

His sister looked back at the monsters, then back at Davey. She shook her head slightly and gave him a sad smile.

“Sarah…?” Davey was about to ask what was wrong, but before he could, he was pushed into the elevator with such force that he hit the wall. “Wait, what are you-”

“Look,” she said hurriedly, “I know I said we’d get through this together, but this isn’t my fight.” She looked back quickly. “ _You_ have to do this. I’ll stay here to help the others.”

Davey stood up, slightly disoriented. “Wait, please, I can’t do this on my own! I need you!”

“No, you don’t. I know you can do this…” Without hesitation, she took a step in and pressed the button to the top floor. She stepped out quickly and gave him one last smile. “You got this… I love you.”

Davey opened his mouth to say something, but the doors shut before he could. He took in a few deep breaths.

He hugged the sword close to his chest and leaned against the back wall. He could feel the elevator moving upwards. His legs felt weak, and his heart was pounding in his ears.

He could do this, right? No big deal.

He was only fighting and planning on killing someone he cared way too deeply for considering how short of a time he knew him. Again, no big deal. Totally normal for a seventeen year old kid to do. Everyone did it.

Davey tapped his foot against the hard tile of the floor.

Davey looked up to see the numbers going higher and higher as he traveled up to Olympus. He hugged the sword closer to his chest.

This was supposed to be Jack’s sword. His father made it for him…but now, he would have to use it against him. He didn’t like that thought very much.

Heck, the thought of even harming Jack made his stomach turn.

He could do it though. He’d find a way to get him back. For Medda. For Katherine. For Spot. For all of them.

_Don’t worry, Jackie. I’m coming for you._

There was a small ding as the elevator stopped.

Davey wipes his sweaty hands on his shirt. He rolled his shoulders back.

It was time.

The elevator doors opened slowly. Davey stepped out with his hands shoved in his pockets, his weapon put away.

Two giant doors stood in front of him. He pushed them open and looked around the place.

Under any other circumstance, Davey would’ve been more impressed and in awe of Olympus. The place was massive. Marble pillars, giant statues, roads of gold. It was breathtaking. But, there was no time for sightseeing right now. There was a task at hand to focus on.

Davey took a few more steps forward. The older place seemed completely empty. “Jack?” He called out.

“Are you looking for the other demigod?” A female voice spoke.

Davey jumped. He turned and noticed that he wasn’t alone. A woman, probably goddess, was sitting cross legged right next to the door. .

“Who are you?” Davey asked, slightly frightened by her calm expression.

Her expression was unreadable. It was hard to see her face as well since she wore a brown cloak with a hood over her head. “I am Hestia. Goddess of the hearth.”

Davey took a few steps toward her. “I’m David Jacobs. Son of Neptune.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve heard about the prophecy,” the goddess said calmly. “You are here to fight the son of Hades. He said he’d be in the throne room.”

“Wait, you saw him walk in?” Davey asked.

“Right through the front doors as you did.”

“And you did nothing to stop him?”

“I am merely here to protect my home in case a titan gets near. I am the goddess of home after all. I have no intention of letting it fall to those brutes. Yet I am not allowed to interfere with a prophecy and was forbidden from doing anything as Kronos entered.”

Davey felt his shoulders tense. “Kronos is here? Like, right now?”

“As I said, he walked right through the front doors. And being destined to fall at the hands of another, I could not do anything.”

Davey bit the inside of his cheek. He placed a hand near the hilt of his sword. How could Kronos be here already?! Did he gain a physical form? Was he just like the other titans he had seen beforehand?

Davey swallowed. Ready or not, he had to face him and Jack right now.

“Thank you, ma’am. I won’t let the titan destroy Olympus or anyone else’s home.”

“Let’s hope you are right,” she said.

Davey continued walked deeper into the home of the gods. It was eerily quiet. It felt like being in a horror movie. Just waiting for the killer to pounce and murder him then and there.

Finally, Davey made it to what he presumed was the throne room. At least, it would’ve been if not for the fact that almost all of them were now nothing but rubble. Eleven thrones had been destroyed with only one standing. Zeus’s throne.

The room was empty though. Davey took a few more steps inside. His footsteps echoed through the room.

“Jack?” He called.

There was silence. The only sound present was his voice echoing off the polished marble walls.

Then, footsteps. Slow and steady footsteps as though the person walking had all the time in the world. The sound of metal against stone rang through the air as well. It was like a sword being dragged across the floor.

That’s when he saw him.

Jack.

He slowly emerged from behind the last remaining throne. His movements looked almost unnatural. They were loose and lagging in almost a hypnotic way. His feet dragged on the ground and hands slumped at his sides, his sword dragging behind him. His head hung low with this raven hair covering the majority of his features. Somehow his clothes were still intact and just as clean as when Davey first saw him though.

He stopped. He was leaning forward almost like a rag doll that had just fallen over.

Davey looked around. No sign of Kronos though. Where could he be?

He steadily lifted his hands to show he was unarmed. He took a few steps toward the other.

“Jack?” He stuttered. “It’s me.”

No response.

He continued. “I don’t want to fight you. I’m just here to talk.” He sighed. “Just listen to me, okay? We both know you don’t want to do this. You’re hurt. You’re parents left you, and you want to get back at them. I understand that. I know it hurts… it hurts that they may never care about you the way you want them to. I understand that feeling. A lot of us do, but this isn’t the way to handle it. Kronos is tricking you. Making empty promises that he can’t keep. He’s not helping you. He’s just going to make you feel worse than you already do.”

He felt his hands ball into fists. He watched for a response.

Nothing. It was like he was dead.

“Jack?” He walked toward him. “Jack, are you okay?”

Still nothing.

“Please, say something. Are you listening? Jackie? It’s me. It’s Davey.”

He walked closer to the unmoving boy. Something was definitely wrong. He was walking a few moments ago, so he couldn’t be dead… right?

He reached out to touch him. “Please, Jack-”

At an inhuman speed, the demigod grabbed Davey’s arm.

His grip was steel. Davey tried to shake it off, but Jack wouldn’t let go. His grip only grew tighter like he was trying to yank it off him.

“What are you-”

He threw him to the ground. Davey landed on his backside and stared up at Jack. He could feel fear rising in his chest.

“Jack?”

He stood up in an unsettling motion that resembled a puppet being controlled by its puppeteer. His body fell in a backwards motion, his head being thrown back and finally showing his face. He finally stood in a sort of upright position.

His shoulders still drooping and back hunched over.

Davey gasped when he saw Jack’s eyes.

They were completely golden with no whites shown. They gave off a faint glow. It was like they were completely devoid of any and all emotion.

His lips curled into a weird smile. Not the kind of handsome, laidback smile he usually had on. It had a sinister feel to it.

“Hello, David,” Jack spoke in a voice that wasn’t his own. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop... Hey, how’d all that angst get there? Oh well, here we go into the scene I’ve legit been wanting to write since this fic started!
> 
> Anyway, take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you next chapter!!


	26. In Eyes Once Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get the inevitable Davey and “Jack” confrontation!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to leave y’all on that last cliffhanger!  
> But here it is! The final battle that you guys have been waiting for! Gods, I hope I don’t mess this up. I’ve been waiting forever to write this chapter! 
> 
> So, without further ado, Enjoy!

Time stopped.

It felt as though the world around them slowed down just for this moment. Just to make mess with him. 

Davey couldn’t say it didn’t work though. 

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. He was frozen in absolute horror. 

Jack took a few steps toward him. The sinister smile never left his face. In fact, it seemed to grow wider. At this point, Davey could see Jack’s canine teeth on full display. 

The other let out a low chuckle. “What’s the matter? Didn’t quite expect to see me, son of Neptune?”

Davey swallowed. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth and stood up shakily. The sword suddenly felt much heavier in his hands as he pointed it at his former friend. 

Jack came closer until his chest was only inches from the tip of the blade. He stared Davey straight in the eyes, his golden eyes glowing through his dark bangs. He simply lowered the tip of the sword and continued to stare with a wicked grin on his face. 

There was a voice in the back of his head telling him to drop his weapon. He contemplated it but decided against it. He was sure he couldn’t avoid violence in this situation. He managed to muster up enough courage to speak, but his voice came out only a whisper.

“No…”

Jack stared Davey dead in the eyes as though waiting for him to make a move. When he didn’t, he just shook his head. “You won’t hurt him. You care about him too much.” Somehow, his smile managed to grow even wider. “I figured that much.” He sighed, the grin leaving his face all too quickly. “It’s such a shame. I was hoping for something of a challenge.” He shrugged, his head lolling to the side. “Let’s finish this quickly, shall we? I have a world to take back.”

He swiped, but Davey jumped back in time for the blade to barely graze his arm. He finally found his voice. 

“Kronos,” Davey said, with a slight tremble in his voice, “get out of my friend.” He tried to sound confident, but his voice came out scared. 

There was a chuckle. “Oh, this thing?” He held Jack’s hand out in front of him and wiggled his fingers. “It’s just a temporary vessel. Once my full power is restored, you can have this one back. Well, if there’s anything left, that is.”

Davey felt something burn in his chest. He wanted to kill the titan right then and there, but he couldn’t. He’d end up hurting Jack in the process. Gods, this was going to be harder than he thought. 

Davey’s grip tightened. “Get out of Jack’s body, or else-”

The titan laughed. It was so weird hearing such a deep, wicked laugh come from Jack. “Or what, demigod?”

In one swift movement, he grabbed Davey by the collar of his shirt and pinned him against a pillar. He had a long black sword in his other hand. “I’m the king of the titans. I have the most powerful demigod’s abilities on my side. Unless, you have a secret weapon, you are done for.”

Davey tried to pry himself from Jack’s grasp, but he had an iron grip. He swung at the titan and landed a punch, but it didn’t faze him. Kronos just gave an amused smile. “That’s not going to work, demigod.” He raised his long blade and carefully dragged it along Davey’s arm. He winced at the pain that shot up his arm.“You have no one to save you this time. Poor little Neptune. You’re on your own.” His voice had an air of arrogance and mockery to it.

Davey felt hopeless in this situation. He couldn’t fight him because then he’d hurt Jack, but he couldn’t just let the titan go free or that could hurt everyone else. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He couldn’t do anything.

He stared at Kronos, who was smiling at him through Jack’s body like a mad man. 

No… No, he had to do something. Something to save Jack and everyone else who was counting on him. 

He felt the warm blood trickle down his arm. “I won’t let you do this…”

“What was that?” Kronos smirked.

“I said… I won’t let you do this!” He kneed Kronos in the stomach with all the strength he could. This time it seemed to do at least some damage. 

Kronos flinched. His grip loosened, and Davey threw him off of him.

Davey sheathed his own blade. He swung his fist in the general direction of Jack’s face and managed to land a hit right in Jack’s nose. 

The titan stared at Davey with his soulless eyes. Blood ran from his nostrils, but he didn’t seem to notice.

He lifted his sword and moved toward Davey. Davey ducked to avoid being hit and went behind him. 

He used all his strength to forcefully grab Jack’s arms. Kronos turned Jack’s head and let out a low growl. 

Davey tried his best to wrestle the weapon from the titan’s grip. 

“Young demigod, I don’t think you understand the circumstances here,” Kronos said. For someone who looked to be struggling, he sounded creepily calm. 

Davey grunted angrily as he struggled against the titan’s strength. 

Kronos’s sword disappeared into thin air. He slammed Jack’s body back into Davey, causing both of them to slam into a nearby pillar. 

Davey felt the back of his head hit the cold stone. A pain shot through his head, and he let go. He held the back of his head in pain. 

Something fastened itself around Davey’s feet and tied them together. He fell and stared down at his feet. He saw thick roots wrapped around them.

He looked up to see Kronos with a blank expression. His cold, soulless eyes stared him down. He motioned a hand upward. 

The roots lifted Davey up by the feet. He dangled upside down right in front of Jack’s face.

He said nothing. He only smirked and flicked his wrist. Davey felt himself lifted up. Before he could do anything, he was thrown right through a wall and landed with his face smashed against a floor. 

He took in a few shaky breathes and looked down to see his reflection in the polished marble. The scratch that had already been there was bleeding again. His face was painted with bruises and blood. At this point his hair even had blood mixed in with his brown curls. He was pretty sure his nose must’ve been broken as well. 

His arms shook as they struggled to support his weight. He wiped at the tears that threatened to fall from his face. He turned over and perched himself up on his elbow. 

The titan walked slowly towards him. The only noises audible were Davey’s heavy breaths and Jack’s shoes against the floor. 

“Jack,” Davey breathed out. “Jack, I know you’re in there somewhere.” He sat up. “Are you really going to let him do this to you?”

“He can’t hear you, David Jacobs,” Kronos said with a grin. He stood over Davey and kicked him hard enough to make him slide across the floor. “He’s gone. And soon will the rest of your loved ones.” He grabbed Davey by his neck and pulled him up. A dark sword manifested in his hand. “You know, I’ve actually been considering making this my permanent vessel. Though, it would not last me too long. What do you think… Davey?”

Davey’s eyes went wide at the last word. His voice almost sounded like Jack’s. Davey felt something inside him snap. 

He gripped Jack’s hands and pried them off him. He kicked the other back. He moved hair out of his eyes and let out something that sounded like a growl. He unsheathed his sword and began to swing at Kronos. 

The loud sound of iron on iron rang through Olympus. 

Davey didn’t really have a strategy. He was mostly swinging and hoping to land a hit that would keep him down only temporarily. 

The titan didn’t let up so easily though. He was able to keep up with Davey and block his strikes with little to no effort. 

The worst part about it was that stupid look of amusement on Jack’s face. It just made Davey even angrier to see how smug he was being about this whole thing. If he could, he would’ve killed him already. 

The other chuckled. “Oh, did I strike a nerve? You mortals are so easy to upset these days.” He tripped Davey and set a heavy foot right on his ribs. He examined his own sword then looked to Davey. A mischievous smile spread across his lips. “I wonder what reaction I can get if I bring your friends your severed head… Oh, that will be fun! Your sister will certainly be easier to dispose of through her grief.”

Davey sucked in a breath. He dug his nails into the hilt of his sword. He let out a scream. A scream so loud that shocked even the king of the titans. 

Kronos blinked his golden eyes. Before he could say or do anything though, water burst through the wall behind him.

It knocked the sword from his hand and wrapped around his body. 

Davey sat up slowly and watched the stream wrap around the titan. 

He watched him struggle to find a way out. 

The titan’s smile faded slightly. He coughed and motioned with his hands to the ground. 

Davey looked down and saw vines making their way through cracks in ground. 

He stepped on them and looked back at Kronos. Davey felt his lips curl into a smile. 

He took a step forward. “You think this is funny now?” His voice came out more monotonous than he expected. He cut the vines that were still growing using his sword. “It’s not so funny when it’s you, is it?”

Davey held out a hand and closed it into a fist. 

The titan coughed and immediately scratched at his throat. Air bubbles left his mouth. His golden eyes flickered.

“Try to threaten me now,” Davey said. He took a few steps closer. “Come on, try me.” He was tempted to end the titan right this right then and there, but something stopped him. 

His eyes. 

They weren’t empty or golden anymore. 

They were black. Black pupils stared back at him with a familiar look of fear. The kind of fear Davey recognized from his visions… from his visions of the young Francis Sullivan. 

Davey felt his hands shake. “Jack…”

Davey’s hands fell. The water encasing Jack slid to the floor and splattered everywhere. 

Jack fell to the floor on his knees. He was breathing heavily. He stared up at Davey with his normal black eyes. “Davey…” He grunted and held his head. He pulled at his hair and looked back up at Davey. His eyes were glowing gold, but the voice that left his mouth wasn’t Kronos’s. 

The son of Hades sucked in a breath. “Davey… what are you doin’?” His voice came out strained. “Finish me already.”

“Jackie!” Davey reached out to him but retracted his hand quickly. “Let me help you! We can-”

“There is no _we_ , idiot,” Jack said. He looked like he was in so much pain. “You gotta kill me!”

Davey took a few steps closer. “Jack-”

“We both know I’m only a problem,” he said. “No one-” He let out a scream. Jack stood up. He held out his hand and manifested his shadow sword. “Enough! This ends now!” Kronos spoke now. “I must admit, you’re much stronger than I anticipated. Too bad it won’t matter once you’re dead.”

Davey gritted his teeth. He made an abrupt swipe with his sword and landed a hit. 

A large gash was made on Jack’s cheek. Kronos didn’t seem fazed. 

“Jack,” Davey said. “Jack, you have to fight him! You can’t let him do this to you! Are you really going to let him hurt your family? Your friends?”

“He-” Kronos blinked. He shook his head. His eyes began flickering between black and gold. “He’s too strong,” Jack’s voice said. “I did this to myself… I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t! Jack, we can fix this! I’m going to help you!”

“I- Ah! But you hate me…” His voice sounded so weak. “I don’t matter…”

“You matter to me!” Davey ran over to him and planted his hands firmly on his shoulders. “Jack! I _want_ to help you! I’m going to help you make this right!”

There was a laugh. Davey wasn’t sure if it was Jack or Kronos. His eyes were black. He had a soft sort of smile on his face. “You’re such an idiot…”

Davey felt himself smile too. He lifted Jack’s chin to make him face him. “Yeah, I know.”

Jack laughed. His laughs became painful grunts until his eyes were golden again. 

Jack grabbed his arms and threw Davey to the ground. “That’s enough!” Kronos roared. “You two can both be idiots in the Underworld when you’re dead!”

He brought his sword down on Davey. Davey blocked it. 

Kronos furiously slashed at Davey, but Davey blocked the hits. 

“You’re right,” Davey said. “This is enough! Enough of you!”

Davey tripped him and kicked Jack’s body so it slid across the floor. 

Davey took in a deep breath. He focused. He used all his willpower, all his strength, to summon what seemed like a tidal wave of water. He willed all the water he could sense. From the fountains on Olympus, to the plumping of the Empire State Building.

He was getting rid of Kronos. One way or another. He just hoped Jack would be okay after what he was about to do…

He needed to knock him out at the very least. To buy time to find someone to help separate him and Kronos. 

He lifted himself above the wave and stared down at Kronos. 

For once, there was a look of something other than amusement on his face. “Oh come on, Davey,” he spoke in Jack’s voice. “You wouldn’t hurt your friend, would you?”

Davey stared down at him. A rush of anger flooded him. “No one calls me Davey! Especially not you!”

Kronos stared at him. His smile returned to his face. He spread open his arms. He grinned widely. “Well, if I lose… at least you will too.” He chuckled. “You’re just like your father, young Neptune.”

Davey growled angrily. 

He was done with Kronos. So… he let him have it. 

Davey made an immediate motion in the titan’s direction. 

The tidal wave washed over him. 

The moment felt surreal. The wave crashed down harder than Davey expected. It broke one of the walls, knocked over a few pillars, and buried the other to a point he couldn’t see him. 

It all went by so quickly. And Davey was running out of energy to restrain it from doing worse. 

Then, everything settled. 

Davey took in heavy breaths. His eyes scanned the area until they landed on Jack lying on the ground. 

Davey stared down at Jack, tears threatening to fall from his face. He landed next to him. 

As he landed, he fell to his knees in complete exhaustion. He took in a few deep breaths before glancing over at Jack… or Kronos? At this point, it was hard to tell. 

“Jack,” he breathed. “Are you there?”

He got no response. 

Davey stood up and shakily made his way over. It wasn’t until he was right over him that Davey really saw the damage he’d done. 

A large bruise on Jack’s forehead had busted and was now staining his hair red. His limbs were twisted in so many ways humans shouldn’t be able to move their arms and legs. Davey winced as he noticed a giant cut on the back of his neck. 

“Jack?” He knelt next to him. “Jackie…” Tears stung his eyes as he turned Jack’s face toward him. He slid his fingers to his neck and almost felt his heart stop. 

“Jack! Jack, wake up!”

Davey felt tears trail down his face as he gently but hurriedly took the shorter boy in his arms and listened for breathing. 

Much like his pulse, it was slow. His breaths came out shallow and rough like he was having trouble. 

“Jack… Jack, I’m so sorry… please… don’t go…” His voice came out just above a whisper. “I’m sorry…” He hugged him close. 

He felt movement. A hand weakly grasping at his shirt. “Why are you apologizin’ ?” A weak voice said. 

Davey smiled. He pulled away and saw Jack’s eyes open. _Jack’s_ eyes. The warm black ones, not pure gold. “There you are.” He took Jack’s hand. The other winced. “Sorry,” Davey muttered. 

Jack stared up at him with a blank expression. He let out a weak cough, blood dripping from his lips. “Da… Davey…”

“It’s okay, Jackie! I’m here! I’m here!” Davey wiped tears from his face. “We’ll fix this. The gods have to be able to help you! Apollo, maybe your dad-”

“Davey…” Jack’s lips curled into a smile. “It’ll be fine. You win... I got what I deserve. It’s better I’m gone…”

“What?! No! You are not going to die on my watch! I promised everyone I’d bring you back!”

Jack let out something that sounded like a bitter laugh. “I’m sure they’d love to see me after everything… No one cares ‘bout me, Dave. I’m useless…” His smile fell. He closed his eyes like he was falling asleep. 

“No… No! Francis Sullivan! Jack Kelly! You can’t leave! Everyone loves you! Medda, Spot, Katherine… I care about you, Jackie!”

Jack’s eyes snapped open almost unnaturally fast for his state. His eyes scanned Davey’s face. “For sure?”

Davey sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye. “For sure.”

Jack’s gaze became an unfocused one. He let himself fall limp in Davey’s arms. “Davey…”

Davey took Jack’s hand. “I’m here, Jackie. I’m here.” He noticed Jack’s head fall to the side. The son of Hades let out a breath. His eyes glazed over. 

“Jack! Jack no! Stay! Please!” He felt another hot stream of tears fall down his cheeks. “Please… don’t go… I… I love you...” He knew Jack couldn’t hear him. At this point, anything he did was worthless to get him back.

Jack went limp. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry! I’m sorry! But we still have two chapters left! I promise the ending will be (mostly) worth it!  
> Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Peace out!


	27. Wait For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the last chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop- Okay, okay, so sorry for the last chapter! I promise things will get better! And considering the chapter after this is the last one, things can't get any worse... right?
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Davey couldn’t stop crying. 

The tears flowed down his cheeks as he held Jack’s lifeless body close to his. The other’s head was slumped to the side. Once lively dark eyes now seemed grayer and stared aimlessly into the distance.

It all felt so surreal. Like this was all some dream, or rather nightmare, that was passing too quickly to understand what had happened and what was currently going on. 

He didn’t want to believe Jack was gone. He didn’t want to believe he was  _ the reason _ Jack was gone. 

He buried his face in the boy’s hair and took his cold hands. They were even colder than usual. “It’s okay, Jack,” he kept whispering. “I’m here. I promised I’d bring you back… just not like this...” A shiver ran down his spine.

He knew his words were useless in this situation. Nothing he said or did could bring him back. 

In the silence, he heard a dinging sound in the distance. It must have been the elevator because it wasn’t long before footsteps followed. It sounded like people running. 

“Dave,” a familiar voice called out. “Hey where are yous!” It was Race calling him.

He couldn’t answer. He opened his mouth but was unable to speak.

“Dave!” Another voice exclaimed. A girl’s voice. Katherine’s voice. “We came to-” She abruptly stopped. 

Davey glanced up for a split second, but it was hard to see much through the tears stinging his eyes and blurring his vision. 

“Oh gods…” Race’s voice said weakly. “Oh gods… oh gods…”

Someone ran over to him. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Another hand gently brushed the bangs from Jack’s face. Katherine’s voice was right next to his ear. “Dave, what happened here?”

“What does it look like?!” He loudly snapped. He whipped around to face the others.

He took in deep, heavy breaths.

Katherine was taken aback and took her hand back. Race looked almost scared. Spot stood near the entrance to the room. The look on his face was heart shattering. 

He looked like he wanted to cry, but he couldn’t quite process what was happening. Like he was waiting for the grief to set in. 

Davey took in a breath. It hurt that he lost someone he’s only known for a few days, so he couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through Spot’s mind. 

Race took a few steps towards them. “David… what happened?”

He hesitated. “Kronos happened,” he explained, trying to keep his voice steady. “Kronos took over his body. Then, he fought me, and… I didn’t mean for this to happen…” He set the body on the ground and closed the eyes. He couldn’t stand to look at them. 

Davey felt his body shake. “I’m so sorry…”

“They’re dead,” Spot said. The grip on his spear tightened. “Both of ‘em… I lost both of them…” His hands shook. “You killed my brother!”

“I didn’t mean-”

Spot started toward him, but Race held him back. “Calm down, Sean,” Race said. 

“Tony, he killed my brother! I lost both of them in two days!” Tears fell from his eyes. 

Race pulled him into a hug. “I know. I know…” He buried his head in Spot’s hair and held him closely. “It was Kronos’s fault though…” He sniffled. “We all knew this was comin’. We all read the same prophecy…”

Katherine turned to them. “It doesn’t make it sting any less though.”

A wave of silence washed over the four of them. Race and Spot were holding each other, silently sobbing. Katherine took Davey’s hand in hers and was squeezing so hard he could hardly even feel his hand. Davey was looking down at his feet until he realized…

“Wait, where’s Sarah?” Panic filled his chest. “Is she okay? I know she got injured, but-”

“She’s fine, Dave,” Katherine responded calmly. “She was injured, but she’ll be fine. She’s a strong demigod.”

“And everyone else?”

“Safe… well, mostly everyone…” She looked down. “We won, but we lost a few campers out there. It’s a whole mess.”

Race spoke up. His voice was hoarse. “Yeah… Finch, Swifty, and a few others… gone.” He sucked in a breath. “All cause I was stupid enough to believe that titan.”

“Race,” Katherine said, “it’s okay. It really wasn’t all your fault.”

“Yes, Kronos certainly does know how to manipulate. Do not fret too much, young demigod,” another voice said. 

The four of them turned to the source. A tall man dressed in business-like attire stood there. He was joined by another man around the same height and with features that were reminiscent of a certain demigod with the same sandy blonde hair and bright brown eyes. It was Apollo.

Davey spoke up before the gods had a chance to say anything else. “One of you has to do something! Of all the other gods, you two are the ones who have the means to fix-” He gestured at Jack. “-that!”

“Yeah!” Spot chimed in. “Can’t one of ya bring him back from the dead or somethin’?! You’re gods!”

Hades and Apollo glanced at each other. 

“Not my department,” the sun god finally said. “See, I can heal physical wounds. I don’t cure death.”

They looked at the other god. He just stared down at his dead son with a blank expression. “I… There’s nothing I can do either.”

“What do you mean there’s nothing you can do?!” Davey asked. He knelt next to Jack. “You’re the god of death!”

“God of the dead. Not death itself. Many people do tend to get that confused.”

“He’s  _ your _ son though! You have to do something!” Davey snapped angrily. He stared Hades straight in the eyes. He almost immediately regretted his decision considering he wasn’t talking to any ordinary person. This was a god that could very well kill him with the snap of a finger.

Fortunately, Hades didn’t seem to care. At least, that’s what it seemed like. His expression was a neutral one, so it was hard to tell. He looked from Davey to the others. “You want me to do something? Fine. I make no promises though.” He snapped his fingers. “Apollo, take care of the body. I’ll handle the rest.”

“You got it,” the other god said. He knelt down in front of Davey and gave a small smile. Up close he looked just like Crutchie. “Don’t you worry, kid. I can patch this thing up good as new… mostly.” He took Jack’s body carefully in his arms.

“You… Do you know who Crutchie is?” Davey asked. “He’s your son.”

“I have a lot of those, kid,” Apollo said, standing up. “Gonna need to be a bit more specific.” He paused. “Wait, you mean the crippled one? Oh yeah, he’s a tough one. What about him?”

“He went on this quest, but he died. He just… he says hi.”

“Oh…” He adjusted Jack’s position. “That’s… He was a good kid. Too bad I didn’t get to see him more often.”

Davey stood up. He noticed the god of the dead gazing off at something.

“Mr. Hades,” Katherine spoke up, “if you can bring Jack back from the dead, is there any way you can bring a few of our other friends?” She sounded hopeful.

“No,” he answered bluntly. He turned and began walking away.

“What? Why not?” She asked, taking a few steps towards him.

“It’s quite a simple answer.” He stopped and only turned his head slightly to see her. “It’s against the rules of nature. If I went around bringing everyone back from the dead, then there’s really no point in an Underworld is there? Besides, not everyone is too keen on returning. Some would rather stay dead.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Race asked.

Hades turned his head away from them again. “It means if a soul doesn’t want to return, it won’t. It’s less up to me and more the person in question.”

Davey was about to ask what that meant, but the god walked out before he could. He felt a cold feeling rush through his body. Now, he was even more worried than before.

With the two gods and Jack gone, the four demigods were left alone. Davey felt a hand take his. He looked down to see Katherine’s fingers intertwined with his. He squeezed her hand. “So now what are we supposed to do?”

“We wait,” she said. “We wait to see what happens.” He heard a slight tremble in her voice.

Race and Spot were on Davey’s other side. “We can’t even be sure we’ll get him back though,” Spot said. “I don’t think I trust those gods enough to get him back.”

“Like I said,” Katherine repeated, “we wait and see what happens. For now though, let’s head back down. We’ll get everyone cleaned up, take care of the remaining monsters, and go back to camp.” She pulled Davey along. “Come on, let’s go.”

Davey followed her with Race and Spot walking with them. 

He was scared. He knew that Jack and him only knew each other for a few days, most of that time with Jack trying to kill him, but he really did care for him. He wanted to get to know him more, spend more time with him. This just wasn’t fair. He wasn’t even sure Jack reciprocated the feelings. 

Well, that was out of his control, so what was the use of even worrying? There were other things to worry about that were worse. Things way out of his control.

It was all up to Jack from here. 

-

Everything went by so quickly.

So, this was it, huh?

He was done. There was nothing he could do. That was how it ended. 

Not how he imagined dying— well, he never imagined it at all— but it wasn’t the worst way to go. 

At least his voice was the only one in his head he could hear. No more Kronos.

Jack liked to think once he died he’d automatically be transported to the underworld or something. Maybe he’d see his father and get to tell him everything he never got to while he was alive. He had a whole thing planned out in his head that he’d face Hades and tell him off for being, possibly, the worst dad in existence. 

He’d tell him off for abandoning him as a child, for never claiming him, for making him as bitter as he was.

Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what went down.

Oh, he was dead alright. That part was true. No pulse, wasn’t breathing, all that stuff. But, he was still there. 

He sat up. He looked down to see his own body. He watched Davey hug his body. “Stop cryin’, he said. “You don’t got a reason to be sad, Dave. You don’t gotta worry about me.”

“Please… don’t go… I… I love you…” Davey’s voice was a soft whisper. 

Jack flinched. He moved from his position, completely standing off from Davey and his body. “You…” He shook his head. 

No, he must’ve heard him wrong. There was no way that was true. Not after everything Jack had just done. 

Jack sat cross legged next to him. He listened to the other cry as he hugged his body close. 

“It’s okay, Jack. I’m here. I promised I’d bring you back… just not like this...”

Jack put a hand on Davey’s back, causing the boy to shiver. He felt tears threaten to fall from his eyes as well. “I’m right here, Davey.” He swallowed. “Stop cryin’. You don’t have a reason to cry.” 

It wasn’t long before Spot, Race, and Katherine showed up. 

He was pretty sure they’d be relieved, maybe even a little happy, about his death. After all, they didn’t have to deal with him anymore, and he was the cause of all this. 

For some reason… they weren’t mad at him? They all seemed so devastated when they looked upon the scene. 

“What…?” Jack watched everything go down.

How the heck were they not even the slightest bit mad at him?! He literally just tried to kill them and overtake their parents! If he were in any of their positions, he’d be pretty pissed off. They weren’t though.

They were mourning his death. 

It was strange to say the least. Jack didn’t think anyone would miss him if he was gone. He always thought of himself as… useless.

It wasn’t long before two other people appeared in the entrance to the throne room. Jack figured the blonde one must’ve been Crutchie’s dad, Apollo. Man, he looked just like him. Well, a taller and more muscular version of him. The other god also seemed familiar. Jack had seen him before for sure. Where though? 

Despite the circumstance, it was still fun to watch Davey lash out at two immortal beings. He was adorable when he was mad.

“What do you mean there’s nothing you can do?!” Jack heard Davey snap. “You’re the god of death!”

Jack stopped. He stared from Davey to the business-looking guy. “Th- The what?” He took a step back. “Dave, the god of what?!” 

“God of the dead,” the man said, “Not death itself. Many people do tend to get that confused.”

“He’s  _ your _ son though! You have to do something!”

Jack stared between them. If he had a heartbeat, he was sure it would have stopped right then and there. That was his dad… 

It wasn’t too long before the shock faded and was replaced with rage.

“You!” He roared. “You- I got a few things to say to you!”

He didn’t seem to be able to hear him. Either that, or he was ignoring him.

Jack balled his hands into fists. “For one, would it have killed ya to call or- or  _ somethin’ _ ! Not even claim me! Gods! You gotta be the worst dad to ever exist! All you gods suck! Especially ‘cause  _ you only got the one kid _ !”

Hades’s eyes landed on him. He stiffened. He wasn’t sure if he could hear him, but he really didn’t care at this point. He was dead. What were they going to do to him? They certainly couldn’t kill him. The god turned and walked away. 

“Hey! I ain’t done!” Jack noticed the other god grabbing his body. “What are you-”

He managed to catch a bit of what his father was saying this time. “It means if a soul doesn’t want to return, it won’t. It’s less up to me and more the person in question.” He continued walking. 

“Hey, I ain’t done!” Jack ran right through Davey and after the god of the dead. He didn’t care if he couldn’t hear him. He just needed to get this all out of his system. Then, he would happily let Hermes take him away to Fields of Punishment. After all, that’s where he deserved to be.

The god pushed a button on the elevator and stepped in. Jack went in after him. He stood next to his father as the doors shut and the elevator made its way down.

Jack scoffed. “You’re a god! You gotta have other ways to travel than this!”

“Actually, I do; however the long way seemed more appropriate for this occasion.”

Jack stared up at the taller man. He crossed his arms and looked down. So, he was ignoring him. That’s all the gods ever did, wasn’t it?

“Oh, great,” Jack said, “you can hear me. Big whoop. I got a lot of stuff I wanna get out of my system,  _ Dad _ !”He felt tears sting his eyes.

“I’d love to hear it,” Hades said monotonously. “I’m also sure I deserve it. Before you do though, I’d like to explain a few things. Things you should probably listen to.”

Jack groaned in frustration. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms tighter. “Fine. I’ll hear ya.”

“Not hear, Francis. Listen. Those are two different things.”

“Fine. I’m  _ listening _ .” Jack looked up at the numbers getting lower as they got closer to the ground.

Hades sighed. “I usually don’t do this, but you’re getting another chance. This is your only other chance, so choose wisely. I’m going to give you three options.”

“Which are?”

“One, you can continue your journey to the Underworld, and I’ll have it seen to that you are sent to the Asphodel Meadows-”

“Why not just send me to get punished?”

“Francis-”

“I deserve your worst punishments! I tried to help Kronos overthrow you!”

Hades crossed his own arms. “You’re my son. I would never do that to you. It won’t be an ideal afterlife, but it won’t be the worst.”

“Oh really?” Jack turned completely towards him. “Because I-”

“Your second option,” Hades spoke over him, “is you get your second and final shot at life.”

“What’s the catch? There’s gotta be a catch. I’ve heard of Orpheaus and Eurydice, Dad. There’s a whole musical about it. There’s always a catch to these things.”

Hades stared down at him and sighed. “There is. The catch is simple. Much like your mother, you will spend six months in the Underworld a year. For you though, it will remain that way until I have decided that you learned to control your powers and that fatal flaw of yours.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious! That’s bullsh-”

“Language, Francis,” Hades said calmly. He didn’t seem at all fazed by Jack’s anger. He cleared his throat. “That’s the punishment you get. It’s the least I can do.”

“Okay, I get the controlling my powers thing, I don’t got some ‘fatal flaw’ though!” 

Hades said nothing for a moment. He stared at the elevator doors blankly. “You’re dead, aren’t you? Ask yourself what it was that ultimately led you to your demise.”

Jack’s features softened. He wasn’t so much angry as he was… well, empty. He just felt empty. He thought for a moment.

_ Feeling like no one cares about me. _

“Um… holding some stupid grudge against you and Ma, I guess,” he said more calmly.

His father didn’t turn to him. “Once you are able to face it and not let it control you, I’ll let you live a normal life.”

Jack swallowed. He wrung his hands. “And what about the third option. You said there was… there was a third.”

“Yes, there is. No need to worry about that one though. You wouldn't go for it.”

“Try me.”

“No, I don’t think I will. You’re not mature enough to handle it. So, that leaves two.”

Jack stared up at the numbers. They were close to the first floor. “I’ll take the first,” Jack said. “I don’t deserve a second shot at nothin’.”

His father laid a hand on his shoulder. “I think your friend, David, would disagree, along with a few others.” He klent so that he was at eye-level with him. “Francis, there's a reason for everything I’ve done. Most of my children tend to be met with tragic endings… I’d like you to be an exception. I can never take back those seventeen years, but for what it’s worth, I apologize.”

Jack felt a tear escape his eye. He wasn’t sure how to react. His brain was a whirlwind of emotions. He wasn’t ready to forgive his dad just yet, but now that he stopped to think about it for once, there must’ve been more he was missing. Hades seemed genuine in his apology for the most part. So, what pieces of the puzzle was Jack missing? There must have been some kind of reasoning.

Maybe, just maybe… people did care about him. People would care if he was gone.

Davey, Medda, Spot, his dad. He knew Crutchie cared about him. Crutchie was gone though. 

Maybe if he chose to move on, he’d get to see Crutchie one last time. Even just to say goodbye.

Jack just stood there staring at the flashing numbers. “Me too.”

Hades stood up as they neared the first floor. “So, Francis, what will it be?”

Jack blinked. He wanted to stay behind and be there for his friends. He wanted to believe he could turn things around, but he wanted so desperately to leave everything behind too, just so he wouldn’t have to bear the shame of seeing their faces. 

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I made up my mind.”

-

Davey wrung his hands together.

He hadn’t been this nervous since the beginning of this quest. His emotions and thoughts were scattered everywhere.

“Relax, Dave,” Sarah said. Her leg was bandaged up and she was sitting on the bench next to Davey. “I’m sure everything will be fine.” She wrapped him in a hug. “I’m still here for you. Whether he decides to stay or go, me and everyone else are going to be here for you.”

“Yeah…” Davey watched as the rest of the campers prepared funerals for the campers who died in battle. Heck, even Morris was there to mourn the death of his brother. 

Davey still didn’t like him, but he did feel a tinge of guilt for being the reason for his brother’s death. After all, he did stab him through his intestines… and cut his head off… Wow, it just hit him that he killed two people in one day. How surreal.

Someone walked up to them from behind. It was Spot. He looked much better than last time he saw him.

“How are you twos holdin’ up?” He asked.

“Pretty alright,” Sarah answered.

“Eh…” Was all Davey could manage. “I’m worried and scared and tired and-”

“Alright, enough said. I get ya, Dave,” Spot said with a small smile. “I’m worried too. I mean, that’s my brother in there. If Hades can’t bring him back, then I’m fresh outta brothers.” 

Sarah rolled her eyes with a smile. “Yup, because those are a dime a dozen, right Dave?”

Davey just shrugged. “I wouldn't know. I’m stuck with you.”

She playfully punched him. “Hey!” She turned back to Spot. “To be honest, I kind of hope he comes back too. He did try to kill us, but he was an alright guy. Plus, Davey never got to kiss him.”

“Shut up or you’re next!” Davey said, feeling heat rise to his face.

Spot chuckled. “Yeah... say, when you twos head off back to Camp Jupiter, you better visit from time to time.”

Davey and Sarah both turned to him.

“You’re not coming with us?” Davey asked.

Spot sighed. “No, I’d rather stay here. Yeah, I’ve been marked as the son of Mars, but that ain’t me. I’ll stay here with Racer and the other guys. I’m a greek demigod. No amount of trainin’ or puttin’ on a serious face is gonna change that.”

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Sarah said. “We’ll miss you.”

“Yeah, especially when you beat us at capture the flag,” Davey said with a small smile.

“It’s for the best.” He put an arm around each of them. “I’ll miss you two seaweed brains too. I’m glad I came on this quest with yous.”

Davey smiled as he felt Spot ruffle their hair. After that, he left Sarah and Davey on their own again. Davey’s eyes once again wandered to the Hades cabin where Jack was being kept. 

“You still worried about him, Dave?” Sarah asked.

Davey nodded. 

“Then, go check on him. See what’s up.”

“I can’t do that. What if they don’t-”

“Dave. Just go to him.” She pushed him off the bench, and he landed on the ground.

He stood up. “Fine. Fine, but when everything goes downhill, it’s your fault,” he called back as he walked away.

“I’ll take my chances,” she called back. 

Davey walked slowly toward the dark cabin. 

He stood before it and knocked on the door to see if anyone else might be in there. The door opened after a moment to reveal Race.

“Dave,” he said in a hoarse voice, “what are you doin’ here?”

Davey rubbed his arm.”I just… how’s Jack doing?”

Race opened the door to let him in. Upon entering, he saw Jack’s body placed on a bed. He was covered in a dark purple blanket wearing an orange shirt that read ‘Camp Half-Blood’ on it. His eyes were closed. He seemed paler than before too and a bit skinnier. On the bright side, all his wounds looked healed. No more bruises or scratches or blood on him.

“He hasn’t woken up,” Race said. “I’ve been here since Apollo brought him back to keep an eye on him. Still nothin’.”

Davey sighed. “Well, if you need a break, I’ll be glad to watch him for you,” he offered.

Race hesitated. “Hm… fine. I guess I could use a bit of a rest. Just watch him, okay? Doesn’t matter if he wakes or not.”

Davey nodded.

Race closed the door behind him as he exited. It was just Davey now. He walked over to the bed Jack was on. He sat next to him and touched his forehead gently.

It was freezing cold. There was no pulse either.

Davey let out a shaky sigh. “Jackie… I’m so sorry.” He leaned down and cupped Jack’s cheeks gently to face him. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.” He paused.

“None of this was supposed to happen,” he repeated. “This was supposed to be a quick quest. I wasn’t supposed to meet you. I wasn’t supposed to be friends with you. I wasn’t… supposed to fall for you this quick.” He laughed bitterly to himself and touched his forehead with Jack’s freezing one. “You snuck up on me Jack Kelly… Francis Sullivan… I never could’ve seen this coming. I just wish I could've told you how much you meant to me…”

He removed his hands from Jack’s cheeks and moved them to Jack’s chest. He swore his own heart stopped when he felt a small thud.

“What-”

Then, in an instant, he felt a pair of lips on his.

He was caught off guard and didn’t kiss back out of complete and utter shock. After a moment, they parted from his lips.

“I told you you were an idiot.”

Tears filled Davey’s eyes. This time they weren’t sorrowful ones. “Jack!” He squeezed him tightly. 

“Geez Dave, you wanna kill me again,” Jack said in a strained voice.

“You’re back,” he said, loosening his hold on the other.

“Thanks for pointing that out. I never woulda guessed.” Despite his sarcastic tone, he had a smile on his face. “But yeah… I’m back. What? You thought I was gonna leave ya. You can’t get rid of me that easily, Jacobs.”

Davey wiped a tear from his eyes. “I wish,” he joked back.

Jack gave him a look, then avoided his gaze. “Hey Dave, is it true what you said? That you, ya know… that you love me.”

Davey felt heat rise to his face. “You heard that?”

“Mm-hm. Can’t believe you beat me to it too. Oh well, at least I got the first kiss in, so I win.”

“I’m just glad you’re back,” Davey said.

“I couldn't leave ya hangin’, Davey.” His face became more serious. With the pale skin and black hair, he looked a lot more like his dad. “But I gotta tell ya. There’s a bit of a twist here.”

“Uh-oh.”

“No, not too bad! But, ya see, I’m gonna have to spend half of the year… in the Underworld… with my folks.”

“Oh…” Davey bit his lip. “Well, that’s not too bad right. I get to see you six months a year, and we can still message… somehow. We’ll find a way. But for now…” He smiled. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

Jack smiled. “Yeah… me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it is very funny that originally I was going to write it as Jack telling Hades to tell Davey that he's dead for real, but then come back and be like "lmao I lived bitch". Then, Davey would've punched him in the face. But you know... they kiss. SEE I TOLD YOU THINGS WOULD GET BETTER!
> 
> Well... TECHNICALLY, this is the last chapter because the next one is mostly like an epilogue. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! See you in the final chapter!


	28. I Never Planned on You (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short time skip about a year into the future! We get to see what everyone's up to after everything that happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LAST CHAPTER LET'S GET IT FELLAS!  
> Okay, but seriously to everyone that managed to make it this far, thank you so SO much! This is the first multichapter fanfic I've actually completed, so this is pretty awesome for me, and that fact that it's gotten pretty popular is like... WHOA. This has been a fun fic to write.
> 
> Okay, I won't keep you guys anymore. Without further ado, our final chapter!

Davey’s leg bounced as he looked out the window.

Sarah sat next to him in the backseat of the minivan. She had her suitcase in her lap. “Thanks again for picking us up from the airport, Ms. Medda. Oh, and for driving us to camp too. It must be really out of your way.”

Medda waved a dismissive hand, keeping her eyes on the road. “Oh, it’s fine dear! It’s no trouble at all! My schedule is light today anyway.”

Davey stared out at the familiar hills that passed as they drove into a more rural area. Although everything looked more or less the same from when they were here last year, things felt different. Maybe it was because so much had happened in that timespan, but Davey couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

It wasn’t a bad change either. It was good. He felt good. This was a good kind of change. 

Davey looked forward to seeing everyone too. They found a way to communicate through Iris messages every once and awhile, so Davey and Sarah had already let them know they’d be there today. He was excited to see Spot, Katherine, Race, Jack… Okay, mostly Jack. 

After the whole, well… the incident… Davey, Sarah, and Les only stayed in New York for a few days before having to return back home. So, Davey only got to see him for a short while. Jack was really jumpy too and insisted on staying in the Hades cabin the whole time and away from people. It didn’t help that he got weird looks from other campers and people talking behind his back that made him want to avoid them. He would always shadow travel away for a while, then come back at random times, so Davey didn’t get to see him much.

So yeah, Davey was looking forward to seeing him again. 

It wasn’t long before Medda parked the vehicle in front of the entrance to Camp Half-Blood. “Well,” the older woman said, “here’s your stop, little demigods! Have fun!”

Davey and Sarah hopped off the vehicle and said one last goodbye to Medda before she drove off. The two stood in front of the sign that read “Camp Half-Blood” for a second. Davey smiled excitedly as they walked toward the entrance. 

As they stepped past the threshold into camp, they were greeted with the familiar sight of campers of all ages scattered everywhere, playing some kind of game or practicing some form of combat training. Some were even just hanging out by the lake or dining area.

The siblings only took a few steps in and were immediately met with a suffocating hug from a familiar demigod.

“There you twos are! I’ve been waiting in that bush for hours to jump out and surprise yous!”

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Race, how long have you been waiting?”

“Three hours,” another voice said. Spot walked up to them. “He’s been there for  _ three hours _ waiting to be the first to welcome you two.”

Race ruffled their hair and let go. “It was a nice three hours though. Sean even stayed with me the last thirty minutes.”

Spot chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, I didn’t want ya gettin’ lonely now, did I?” He pulled Race down and kissed his cheek. “You’re an idiot, but you’re my idiot.”

Race bounced on the balls of his feet. “Anyway, come on. We’ll help ya get settled in, then catch up.”

“That sounds good.” Davey looked out at the camp again. “Hey, where’s Jack?”

Spot shrugged. “Off with Kath, runnin’ some errands for Medda or somethin’ like that.”

“Oh,” Davey said. Well, that explained why Medda wasn’t too busy today. He scratched the back of his neck, not quite sure how to respond. “That’s cool… I guess.”

“But, uh, they’ll probably be back soon,” Spot added quickly. “Cause you and my brother are… well, ya know.” He shrugged awkwardly.

“Yeah, I got it.”

The four of them made their way to the Poseidon cabin. Race and Sarah walked ahead side by side while Davey and Spot only a short distance behind them.

“So how have things been back at camp?” Spot asked.

Davey shrugged. “Same as always. We needed another praetor after you left. Really nothing else happened-”

“Lies!” Sarah turned, still walking. “You're leaving out the best part. Tell them, Dave!”

Spot looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, Dave, tell us. What’s the best part?”

Davey tensed up and glared at his sister. “Nothing. It’s nothing,” he said quickly.

Sarah smirked at him, still walking backwards. “You know, since we need a new praetor and all… Smalls said she thought David would be a good candidate to take your place.”

Race turned around and began walking backwards too. “Wow! Ain’t that somethin’? Congrats, Dave!”

“No,” Davey said nervously. “I’m not a praetor yet. Just being considered is all… Nothing to get too excited about.”

Well… it kind of was, but Davey didn’t want to make too big of a deal out of it. Again, it was just a consideration. There were a few others taken into consideration as well. 

He felt an arm wrap around him and bring him into a side hug. “Hey, that’s great though! Somethin’ better than nothin’!” Spot said. “And don’t worry, if you do get picked, it ain’t that hard. I could do it, so you definitely got this down.”

Davey laughed nervously. “Ha… yeah.”

Truth be told, the responsibility actually quite excited. He just didn’t want to get his hopes too high, in case he didn’t get chosen. He was just trying to play it cool for now. 

The four of them continued to talk about what was going on. Race tripped over something as he walked backwards but got up like nothing happened. When they got to the Poseidon cabin, the couple stayed for a while and helped them settle in. 

“So, how are the demigods fitting in again?” Davey asked. “You know, the ones who worked for…” He trailed off. 

“They- We’re fine,” Race said with a bit less energy than he previously had. “A few of us are doing better than others. Like Albert and I are gettin’ along easier with than campers like Skittery or Morris.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Davey said. 

Spot put an arm around Race’s waist. “Yeah, things are mostly gettin’ back to the way they were around here. And I do gotta admit, it’s a lot more fun just bein’ a camper than bein’ a leader.”

Race smiled at his boyfriend. He draped an arm around Spot’s shoulder. “It’s just nice that things are getting better.”

“Aw, that’s nice,” Sarah responded. “Anyway, thanks for helping us guys. We’re kind of tired from the long trip though, so we’ll see you during dinner?”

“You got it,” Spot said. “See you twos later.”

They left. 

Davey sat on one of the beds and sighed. He stared out the window and watched campers pass. “Hey, Sarah?”

“Hm?” She responded, laying on her own bed. 

“Do you ever worry about what’s next?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, yeah, we saved everyone and took down a titan, but that was then. Do you ever worry about the future? College? Eventually leaving camp and all that?”

Sarah stayed silent for a while. “I… guess not. I try not to worry about it too much. Things change, so we’ll get there when we get there.”

Davey bounces his leg. He turned to her and just shrugged. “But-”

Sarah sat up and sighed. “Look, Dave, sometimes you just have to enjoy things for what they are. Don’t worry about what we did or what we’ll do. Just right now. Just-” She paused and looked out the window. “Maybe you should worry about what’s in front of you. Like a certain son of Hades.”

Davey raised an eyebrow. “A what?”

“You know,” she smiled. “A certain demigod you’ve taken a liking to.”

Davey tilted his head. “What does Jack-”

“For the love of- turn around!”

Davey rolled his eyes and turned to the window. His heart skipped a beat. He swallowed. “Oh…”

Coming into view was a mostly familiar face. 

Jack looked the same as when they left but also different in a way. 

His tan skin had paled and made his hair look even darker in comparison. His hair was longer too. It was at least neck length and still as messy as ever. He looked skinnier as well. There was definitely a strong resemblance to Hades… or a vampire. A bit of both actually. It was a good look for him. It definitely didn’t change the way Davey felt about him. 

Sarah cleared her throat, pulling him from his thoughts. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Are you going to talk to him or just stare at him all day?”

“Is staring an actual option?”

She threw a pillow at his head. “Just go talk to him! He’s your boyfriend! I thought that whole awkward phase was over.”

Davey bit the inside of his cheek. “What am I supposed to say though?”

“Literally anything. He finds anything you say interesting.”

“But-”

Sarah sighed with audible frustration. “He came back from the dead for you, dummy! Just talk to him!” She got up and grabbed Davey’s arm. She opened the door, tossed him out— almost literally— and closed the door. 

Davey turned around. He took in a deep breath and walked toward Jack. 

When Jack noticed him, he stopped in his tracks. Katherine, who was with him, stopped as well and asked why he stopped walking. 

Davey cleared his throat. “Hey, guys.”

Katherine turned. She beamed. “David!” She ran over and hugged him. “It’s so good to see you!”

Davey hugged her back. “Yeah, good to see you too!” He smiled. 

He released her and glanced over at Jack. He felt a slight heat rise to his face and smiled nervously. “Hi, Jackie.”

A warm smile graced his face. He walked up to him and locked eyes with him. “Heya, Davey.” He stood on the tips of his toes and gently but quickly kissed his lips. 

His face got warmer. “I missed you.”

“‘Course ya did,” Jack said. “Who wouldn’t?” He looked around. “I miss this place too. Gods, six months in the Underworld is too much. I don’t know how Ma does it. Or how Hades does it all year for that matter.”

Davey wasn’t sure if he was making a joke or making a bitter remark, so he just nodded. 

They stood there in silence facing each other for a beat of silence. Jack finally looked down and sighed. “Well, see ya later. I gotta go do a thing.”

“What thing?” Katherine asked. “We just got back, and you're leaving already?”

“I gotta go do a thing,” Jack repeated with a shrug. “I’ll see you guys at dinner.”

Katherine opened her mouth to say something, but he was gone already. She sighed. “Idiot,” she mumbled. She shook her head and turned to Davey. “Well, I guess it’s just us for right now.”

Davey watched Jack leave. “Huh… Oh yeah! Yeah, I guess.”

Katherine turned to watch Jack leave as well. She turned back to Davey and waved a dismissive hand. “Hey, don’t take it personally. He’s been really to himself lately. He’s fine though. Anyway, what’s up with you guys? I haven’t heard from you or Sarah in a while.” She started walking and gestured for Davey to follow.

“We’re fine,” Davey said, walking by the girl’s side. “Camp’s been a bit boring without Spot bossing us around though.”

Katherine laughed. “Yeah, once you really get to know him though, it’s hard to let him go. Race has been by his side this whole time. Really missed him.”

“That’s nice. When I messaged him, Race was always there. He must’ve really missed him.”

“Well, that’s just Race for you. He’s also been trying his best to make up for… well, you know.”

“Yeah…” Davey looked down and kicked a rock. “Hey, how about Jack? Does he, um, ever talk about me?”

Katherine glanced at him and smiled. “Since he came back, he does more than you’d think.”

“Like what?”

Katherine laughed again. “If I told you, that takes the fun out of it.”

They walked past the cabins and through a field nearby. The sun was beginning to go down in the sky, and the moon began faintly appearing in the sky.

They walked and talked a bit more, then finally sat down in the grass.

Katherine stared up at the faint silver of the moon. “So, they’re considering you as a praetor? That’s pretty neat!”

“Like I told Spot and Race, I’m being  _ considered _ . It’s not official or anything. I guess it's pretty cool though.”

Katherine brought her knees up to her chest. “Well, if you ever need any help, I’m the head of the Athena cabin. I know a thing of two about strategizing and leadership. Spot’s also here if you need him.”

He smiled. “Thanks.That means a lot.”

There was noise in the distance. 

Katherine stood up. “Welp, looks like it’s time for dinner. Come on.” She held out her hands and helped Davey up. They walked back to where the others were. 

Davey looked around, but he couldn’t see Jack anywhere. He made his way to Sarah, who was talking with another camper Davey recognized as Darcy. “Hey,” Davey said, tapping her on the shoulder.

She turned. “Oh! Hey, Dave! What’s up?”

“Have you seen Jack?” He asked over the chatter of the other campers.

“No, not since earlier,” she replied. “Maybe check his cabin. He might be there.”

Davey nodded. “Thanks.”

He left the dining area and found himself in front of the Hades cabin. He was about to knock on the door when he heard a voice. “I would bother knockin’. He ain’t in there.”

Davey turned to see Race standing only a few feet behind him. Davey tilted his head. “Then where is he?”

Race pointed to a hill in the distance with a tall pine tree on it. “Just hangin’ out over there. We was just kinda watchin’ campers all day while he drew in his sketchbook.”

Davey glanced from the hill to Race. “Is he coming or…?”

Race shook his head. “Nah. He usually doesn’t. That’s probably why he’s lookin’ the way he does these days. Anyways, he told me not to tell you, so don’t tell him I sent ya.”

Davey smiled to himself and shook his head. “Alright then. I’ll see you later.”

“See ya.” Race continued walking toward the dining area.

Davey walked the opposite direction. He made his way to the hill Race had pointed. 

As Davey got to the top of the hill, he saw Jack’s profile staring out into the distance. In his arms, he held a large black sketchbook close to his chest. An unreadable expression was on his face. He seemed disassociated from reality though. 

Davey debated just leaving him alone since he didn’t seem in the mood to talk; however, Jack spoke without even turning to look.

“Are you gonna stand there all night, or are ya gonna come sit with me?” 

Davey blinked. Now that he was here, he didn’t know what to say. “Uh, I can leave if you want.”

The son of Hades laughed. “Nah, it’s fine,” Jack said, finally tearing his eyes from the view. “I kinda wanted to finish this tonight, but it can wait. Get over here, idiot.”

Davey sat next to him and leaned against the tree. When he did, Jack stared into the distance again, his grip on his book loosening. Davey followed the other’s gaze. He could see almost the entire camp from this point. The ocean was in the distance, the cabins were all visible in their giant U formation, and campers were wandering around and doing their own activities, having fun.

Davey glanced back over at Jack and noticed him drawing something. He couldn’t quite see the drawing, but he could make out that they were the shapes of people. There were three people to be exact. Two seemed to be men and one a woman. Jack seemed to notice and hugged the notebook close to his chest.

“Hey! Hasn’t anyone ever taught ya to mind your business?”

Davey chuckled. “Nope. What are you drawing?”

“Nothin’ important. Just redrawing an old piece. Lookin’ back, the other one did not come out as good as I thought it did.”

Davey just nodded. He looked back out to the camp.

He felt Jack rest his head on his shoulder. Davey wrapped an arm around his waist. “I thought you said you’d see us at dinner. What are you doing up here by yourself?” He asked quietly.

Jack shifted and made himself comfortable. He closed his sketchbook and set it next to him. “Tired,” he mumbled. “ I had a lotta things to do today. Plus, I’m just tryin’ to enjoy the view before I gotta go back. This sucks.”

“It can’t be that bad. I mean, the Underworld’s a pretty big place, isn’t it?”

Jack sighed. He wriggled out of Davey’s grasp and laid his head in the taller boy’s lap. “It is, but I ain’t allowed to leave the house without bein’ watched. I’d rather go back with Medda. Sure, it was a small livin’ space, but at least she let me  _ leave _ when I wanted to. Medda’s the best parent I’ve had! My folks don’t let me do nothin’!”

Davey ran his hands through Jack’s hair. “It’s alright, Jackie. You’re not missing out on anything up here either. It’s been pretty quiet lately.”

Jack scoffed. “Says you. You got a lot goin’ for ya. You're a praetor! You’re gonna go to college! You’re a son of the big three! You’re one of the smartest and caring guys I’ve met! People respect you, Dave. And what do I got? A reputation for tryin’ to commit genocide!” He groaned and covered his face. “Ugh… you’re way too out of my league. How’d you end up with me?”

Davey smiled. “Don’t say that. I mean, that’s only true for the most part.”

“Dave! This is the part where you make me feel better!” Jack reached up and poked his face. 

Davey laughed. “I’m joking. I’m joking.” He swatted Jack’s hands from his face. “You’re a son of the big three too, so you can’t exactly complain about that.” His face grew more serious. “Why are you so hard on yourself? You’re amazing, Jackie. You just had the wrong kind of people around you for a while.”

Jack sat up. “Maybe... I know I apologized, but that ain’t gonna fix anything. I still feel bad.“

Davey thought for a moment and shifted. “Well, an apology won’t fix anything, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He slowly eased his hand into Davey’s and intertwined their fingers. “You know, I never got to thank ya.”

Davey raised an eyebrow. “Thank me? For what?”

“For not given’ up on me. I know anyone else probably woulda, but for some reason…” A smile graced his face. “... for some reason, you were stupid enough to keep tryin’.” He looked Davey in the eyes. “That’s why I’m glad I got to meet you. You make me wanna get better, ya know?” 

“Yeah…” He smiled again. “People love you, Jackie. I love you.”

Jack took in a breath. He leaned forward. “I love you too, Davey.”

Davey closed the gap between them. He brought Jack closer to him and hugged him. Jack kissed him back softly.

If anyone would have told Davey a year ago that he was being sent on a quest, and this was the aftermath, he wouldn’t have believed them.

They had gone through a lot. Heck, they were still facing adversities with everything changing, but Davey was glad this was how things ended up. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Jack pulled away slowly and smiled. He rested his head on Davey’s chest and hugged him close as though this was his last time seeing him. Davey embraced Jack in a hug as well. They looked out on the rest of the campers as the sun began to set over Camp Half-Blood. 

He closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree. He felt Jack cuddle close to him, burying his head in his chest, and let out a sigh. Davey took in a deep breath and let it out. Right here, right now, nothing around them mattered. Not the past. Not the future. Just here and just now.

Everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand that's it! We've reached the ending of our story! Man, I can't believe it... I put this fic out a year ago and now it's finally finished. Thank you so much to everyone who's made it this far! I'm super grateful for all the kudos, hits, and comments!  
> I have considered a sequel, but I don't really have an overarching story for one. There are still a few things I'd like to cover such as Jack's backstory, how the rebellion against the gods started, more Spot and Race, all that kind of stuff! Maybe I could do little one shots? A prequel? Idk. If I don't do any of that stuff, I'm pretty satisfied with how it ended I think.
> 
> Anyway, thanks again to everyone who read this! You're all awesome!!! Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Thanks for reading!


End file.
